New Adventures
by ChelseaShaylee
Summary: Christine Lancer is moving from the Mountains of North Carolina to Charming California. With her hidden past, dealing with new living arrangements, and starting a new life things in Charming are going to get interesting. Can she hang with the outlaws?
1. Making Ground

Christine and her dad had been driving down the interstate for at least five hours. The heat wasn't too unbearable as she had thought it was going to be. Her dad and his new wife were in the Volvo in front of them; Christine following behind in her black 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It had cost her two years' worth of paychecks, and that was without spending money on anything else, but she had never wanted anything more than she had wanted that car. They'd been staying in hotels every night making their way from The Mountains in North Carolina to California. What should have been a four to five day trip had taken them a week and a half thanks to Ashley. Backpackers around the world would be laughing at us if we told them our story she thought rolling her eyes. Thank goodness they were right on the outskirts of California now. There was only about a two hour drive left. I had put up an argument every single night that we had to pull over and get a hotel room because 'She didn't want to sleep in the car'. She is such a prissy ass wasting at least a hundred dollars a night just because she can. Of course it isn't her money she's wasting it's my dad's. That bimbo hasn't worked a day in her life. Which is ridiculous because who mooches off of people and still has dignity? Although dad has always tried to pay for everything, I've had a job since I turned twelve. Six years of busting my ass because being independent is something I thrive on. Grandpa taught me that… Oh Grandpa. With his calloused hands, the way he always smelled of motor oil, tobacco, and hay. They way he would wrap you in a big bear hug and you felt safe. Working on grandpa's farm and in the shop with him had seemed like second nature to me. It was devastating when the cancer took him six months ago. The smoking had done so much damage that the Chemo hadn't helped a bit. It had only made him sick. Grandpa had been there my whole life. I'd lived with him up until then. Dad had been down in Miami with the bimbo trying to 'live the life'. Although living on the farm and working in the shop is my version of the life; to each his own I reckon. Trying to drown out her own thoughts she turned up the radio in the car. The tune in the style of Johnny Cash couldn't drown out her haunting thoughts. The lyrics of Hurt ringing throughout the car only made it worse. _"__I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real. The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything. What have I become?, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know, goes away in the end"._ She furiously tried to wipe away the traitor tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't stop the horrible memories. Grief that turned her into a mess, then turning to drugs and alcohol to mask the grief, and then there was the 'incident'. She was sad to leave the home she had known her whole life But it could be a new start she thought smiling at the hopeful thought Nobody in this town knows about my past. I could just start over and avoid the looks and the whispers that followed me everywhere there. A bigger smile crossed her lips as she pulled on her mirrored aviators, turned to the next song Led Zeppelin's Black Dog, and day dreamed about what was to come.


	2. Not the boy next door, just the biker

Pulling up to the new house with the sold sign in the yard she parked on the right side of the drive way pulling the right side of the car up next to the curb since she had beaten her dad there. Looking around she could tell it was a good neighborhood. A lot different than back home but nice all the same. The houses were pretty big. Looks like her dad didn't shy away from spending money. After waiting for twenty minutes she picked up her phone and called her dads number.

"Hello?" It was Ashley speaking in a condescending manner.

"Let me talk to my dad" Christine said trying to keep her cool, "I don't have time for your immature games Ashley."

Ashley sighed loudly like she couldn't be bothered with this. While waiting for her dad to pick up she caught movement in her rearview mirror. There were a few guys standing outside next to motorcycles. They weren't crotch rockets like every other guy trying to look cool drove these days. From this far away they looked to be Harley Dyna Wide Glides. At this distance she couldn't tell for sure.

"CHRISTINE!... Hello!" her dad called through the phone.

"Sorry daddy I was zoned out. Where are you I've been sitting here for half an hour?"

"We stopped to get something to eat. I meant to call you and tell you. Ashley was rushing me though. Sorry about that. There should be two sets of keys in the mailbox so just go ahead and let yourself in. We'll be there a little bit later." Christine could hear Ashley complaining about how she wasn't getting her own set of keys.

"Alright daddy" she said with and exasperated sigh.

Throwing her phone down in the passenger seat she reached over opening the glove compartment so she could pop the trunk. Opening her door she got out and stretched her legs. She'd been riding in this car all day and just now noticed how cramped up she'd been. Reaching her arms up to stretch her back she heard whistles from behind her at the house with the motorcycles. Christine knew she wasn't ugly or anything but was this really necessary. Of course her cutoff jeans that were leaning towards the daisy duke side, her shortened Willie Nelson t-shirt that showed her midriff, and her cowboy boots probably weren't helping the cause. But it had been hotter than dangit this morning when they got on the road so she wasn't really worried about it until now. Putting her long light brown hair in a ponytail and clipping her aviators to the V-neck of her t-shirt she decided to ignore her audience that was now leaning on their bikes staring. Christine walked around to the back of her car and started sitting boxes out on the pavement. Well there are just four boxes and two duffle bags in the trunk she thought, I bet I can get this in the house in two or three loads. I'm not really sure if leaving my stuff out here would be the best idea.

"Need some….." Christine screamed quickly spinning around to face behind her, "help….?"

"Don't fucking do that!" she yelled fuming.

"We're sorry we didn't mean to scare you. We just figured that you might need some help. I'm Jax, this is Opie, and that's Juice."

The boy who had spoken was about four inches taller than Christine with blonde hair under his ball cap that reached a tad lower than his chin. He had a goatee thing going on and he was actually really cute. But his blue grey eyes were beautiful and that stupid grin he couldn't wipe off his face was really sexy. The taller guy he pointed to named Opie had long light brown hair and a beard with brown green eyes. Then the shortest of the three that was Juice had a dark brown Mohawk with two what looked like tribal tattoos going down his head on either side. He had chocolate brown eyes and a baby face. Not only were they all three inked up but they also decked out in leather cuts and jackets. Do they not know that its hot out here she thought?

"Well, my names Christine and I'm moving in right there" she said pointing over her shoulder at the new house, "I guess I could use the help. Just grab these boxes and these duffle bags and I'll get the rest out of the backseat."

She was still watching them unsure if she should trust them. Lord knows she knew that you can't trust everybody; she had learned that all too well. Opie and Juice grabbed everything from the trunk with ease. Walking back over to her door she pushed her seat forward and started to grab the stuff. She could feel Jax watching her. She looked over her shoulder and sure enough he was staring.

"Yeah like staring at my ass is being real productive."

He immediately averted his eyes and laughed but she turned around and shoved her military size duffel into his stomach. Ha! she thought. Laugh at that. He grabbed it and just looked at her like he couldn't believe she'd just hit him with it.

"You got a problem cowboy? I thought you said you were gonna help or are you just all hat and no cattle?"

She didn't wait to see what his reply was but she threw the other leftover duffel over her shoulder and grabbed the last three boxes in the backseat. She couldn't see unless she peaked her head around the side. The boys were sitting their boxes down to come help her until she stopped them.

"I'm not a pansy I can carry some boxes. There's supposed to be two sets of keys in the mailbox. If you could open the door it would be greatly appreciated."

Jax having less to carry than the other two reached into the mailbox grabbing the keys and opening the door. Her dad had told her that her room was gonna be the room on the very right down the hallway to the right.

"Y'all just follow me. Oh and do y'all think it's okay that my doors are unlocked out there?" she asked leading them into her room. "Shit. Its huge in here."

The three guys laughed behind her making her mad before sitting the boxes in the floor up against the wall.

"You don't have to worry about anybody stealing over here. Trust us on that" Juice said.

"Okay so keys please" she said sticking her hand out to Jax. He dropped them in there and she walked back out towards the front of the house. She heard them following behind her and she got that distinct feeling that they were staring again. "And if y'all could kindly stop staring at my ass it would greatly appreciated."

After the boys had walked on out she closed the door behind her and locked it. When they got back down the driveway to the car Jax walked around the car inspecting it while the other two walked back to their driveway and went in the house.

"This your boyfriends car or something?"

"No" she replied getting upset. What is it with boys thinking girls don't drive anything that doesn't look like a Barbie car? "It's my car and yes I bought it with my own hard earned money before you can so rudely ask." She was really glaring at him now.

"Sorry, just assumed. Haven't ever seen a girl out here driving a car like this in this good of shape. Mind if I look under the hood?" he asked looking at her hopefully.

"Yeah sure. Is that a Harley Dyna you're riding on?" she asked her curiosity getting the best of her, while walking around to pop the hood of the car.

He looked taken back by her knowing anything about motorcycles. "Yeah it is, how did you know?"

"Well from over here I wasn't real sure but I figure it is since I spotted the big-twin engines and the frame. Although I'm just guessing because like I said I am pretty far away."

She walked back to the front of the car and lifted the hood. Turning on the flashlight she had grabbed from inside the car. The sun was staring to go down and it was getting hard to see. When she turned it on and caught the look on his face she laughed out loud.

"What is that look for?"

"Never met a girl who knew about bikes before other than my mom. Even she doesn't know that much about them. Do you ride?"

"Nope, never been on one but I helped my grandpa rebuild more than a few back home. Well, where we used to live anyways."

He was inspecting the engine for a few minutes and then put the hood back down. He leaned back against the grill leaning his weight on his elbows.

"So where are you from anyways? You got a southern accent."

"From the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina" she said getting uncomfortable. She didn't want anyone asking questions, "But I need to go get something to eat and find some stuff. So thanks for helping with my stuff."

She took her hair down and shook it out so she wouldn't have a crease and then hopped in the driver's seat. Jax was walking back towards his house as she cranked the car and sped out.


	3. What's SAMCRO

Pulling back into the neighborhood with her Chinese food she parked in the same spot since her dad and the bimbo still weren't there. It was already seven in the evening so if she was going to go out and get everything she needed done she would have to hurry before things started closing. She didn't see anyone outside thank goodness but the bikes were gone. Grabbing her pocketbook and her phone she locked the car doors and went in the house. Going straight to her room she sat down against the wall and quickly ate. It turns out that when the sun went down it got pretty cold out so she changed into some jeans, her grey Frye boots, then threw on her leather jacket over her Willie tee. Looking around her room to see exactly what she was going to need she still couldn't believe that this was all hers. Her bedroom at Grandpas farm was half as small as this. It had been comfortable though. Now she felt like it would take a whole lot of furniture to fill this room up. Her dad had made her leave all the furniture back at the ranch because he would just buy her new stuff for out here. Of course that wasn't going to happen. She refused to let him buy her anything. Grandpa had left Christine the farm and the shop before he died. That had really ticked her dad off but it didn't shock her. Not only would her dad just sell everything she'd stayed with him her whole life even through the cancer while nobody else had been there; especially not her dad. There wasn't any mortgage and Grandpa had made sure that there weren't any bills for her to pay for a while. She missed home and she missed her old room, but she had to make this work. Looking around she could see there was enough room to have a queen size bed and STILL have a ton of room. She figured she would need a new desk, a dresser, and a bed to start with. There was also a big window with a window seat. The seat had storage compartments in the bottom which would be perfect for all her books. Moving on she went into the bathroom that was all hers and could only be accessed from her room. It was nice. It was your standard bathroom, Bathtub/shower, toilet, and a sink with a counter and a pretty good sized mirror above it. The bathroom closet was great too. Maybe she would just stay in her room and only leave it for food and for school. Before she had made it out the door it opened and her dad and Ashley walked in. They both looked up at her.

"I'm going to get some stuff. I'll be back later although I'm not sure what time it'll be."

Her dad looked like he was on cloud nine from dinner "Here take my credit card."

Rolling her eyes she said "I don't want your credit card. How many times do I have to tell you that I..." She makes a point to look at Ashley, "Don't need to be co-dependent on someone. I can pay my own bills thanks."

Ashley rolled her eyes and then proceeded to act like she wasn't there. Heading out she walked out towards the car and hopped in. Christine hadn't really thought this through. She was in a town which she didn't know where anything was other than a Chinese restaurant. She backed out and headed down the road. After about fifteen minutes and a few wrong turns she found a convenient store. She filled up the gas tank and then went inside to pay. Christine walked to the back and got a bottle of water and some beef Jerky on the way back to the front. The girl behind the counter was reading a magazine and chewing her gum in a loud obnoxious way. Christine had to try to get her attention a few times before she even realized someone was there.

"I'm SO sorry. I get so absorbed in those gossip rags. What did you need hun?"

"I got some gas and this stuff but I was wondering if you could tell me where a store would be that sells furniture and where I could find a U-Haul or something?"

With a big friendly smile she said "Oh yeah hun this stuff gonna be Six dollars and twenty eight cent. Do you have a cell phone? Let me give you the number to T&M. They'll send somebody right out to help you. There's a pier one, a Wal-Mart, and a bed store two miles down the road. You take a right out of here and it will be on your right. You think you can find it?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure I can," she said handing over some cash and taking the number the cashier had written down on a slip of paper. 

After getting her change back she carried her stuff back out to the car and headed towards the stores. She hit the bedding place first. After about five minutes of browsing the man working came over and asked if she needed assistance. He helped her find the perfect queen size headboard. It was wrought iron and classic looking then he helped assist her in getting some mattresses. She paid for them, grabbed her receipt, and then told him she would be back to pick them up in a little while. Next she stopped at Pier one. The people inside kept staring at her. It was really starting to freak her out. Christine found a comforter set and some new pillows before she started to get really annoyed with people staring. She was pushing her buggy down an isle when two older women started whispering and looking at her. She felt her face start to get hot.

"What is your problem? Is there a legitimate reason why you are staring at me? Have you never seen someone shopping?" she just stared and waited for them to answer her with her hands on her hips.

Finally one of the little ladies spoke "We're sorry, we thought you were SAMCRO!"

"You thought I was what?" she yelled but the ladies had already scurried off.

After she got her temper cooled back down she finished up her shopping. It took her a little bit to wrestle a worker over to help her get things in order for her furniture to be picked up. She got a big desk with a hutch on top with shelves in the top and a dresser that was covered in mirror and also picked up all her bath stuff. She paid then headed for Wal-Mart. While inside getting a television she got out her cell phone and called T&M. After a few rings a woman with a gravelly voice picked up.

"_Teller and Morrow, How can I help you?"_

"Yes, my names Christine, I'm out at the Wal-Mart and I need a U-Haul or something to come help me move some furniture to my house please."

"_How much furniture do you have?"_

"I just picked up a bed frame, headboard, mattresses, a desk, and a dresser. The rest of my stuff will fit in my car."

"_Alright, there will be somebody out to help you in about twenty minutes. Our fee is two hundred bucks Up front?"_

"Yeah that's good. I'll be waiting out front."

Christine sat in her car for what seemed like forever until a moving truck that said T&M on the side pulled up. She got out of the car so she could tell the driver to pull up in front of the stores. Out hops her new neighbor Jax and he was wearing a blue ball cap turned around backwards, a blue hoodie with the same leather vest over it, blue jeans and white sneakers. The vest had patches sewed on the front that said Vice President, Men of Mayhem, and Redwood Original at the top and a larger patch towards his bottom left side that said SAMCRO. Funny she hadn't noticed that before. Now that she knew who was involved in it she wondered what the heck SAMCRO was even more.

"Well if it isn't our new neighbor?" he said smirking.

"Yeah that's me. We'll have to pull up in front of these two stores here and put the stuff in the truck. I probably should have asked if you guys moved the actual stuff," she said very nervously feeling extremely stupid.

"Its fine, that part of my job is to help you move the stuff. Is there someone else with you? My mom said you had a lot of big stuff."

"Nope it's just me. But like I've told you before I'm not as weak as I guess you think I look," she said with a little attitude.

"It's not that really, you're just in high heel boots, but whatever you want to do," he said throwing the attitude right back.

"I can function in heels I'm not a little pussy. Pull the truck up to the front of the bedding place and let's get this done," she said before turning on her heel and walking up to the store. That kid has a lot of nerve talking to me like that she thought. He thinks he can just run around treating people like that? This place is nothing like back home.

Jax was baffled that she had talked to him like that though. Everyone would definitely be able tell she was new to town because everyone else knew who he was. He liked her tart little attitude though; it was keeping him on his toes, where as other girls walked on egg shells around him she acted as though she didn't care.

Twenty minutes later Christine was walking backwards carrying her new dresser, and Jax was on the other end. After they got it in there she realized she was trapped behind it.

"How about you come help me get out of here please" she said with her sweetest smile.

"Or maybe I'll just leave you in there for a while since you've been so hateful to me. Damn! I'm just kidding. Stop shooting daggers my way. Give me your hand and I'll pull you up."

She gave him her hand and he pulled her on top of the dresser. Then grabbed her by her waist to help her down. She landed with her body just a little too close to his. Christine got flustered and hurried out of the back of the truck.

While walking towards her car she hollered over her shoulder "I don't have to tell you to follow me because you already know where I live so I'll just see you there."

They made it back to her house and Jax helped carry all of her things to her room. Christine's dads car was gone but when Christine unlocked the door she saw Ashley was there sitting on the kitchen bar painting her toenails. Christine just rolled her eyes and was going to walk by her without acknowledging her until Ashley made one of her little smart remarks.

"I see you made a new friend. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Oh look Ashley your legs are open and dad's wallet isn't. There's a shocker."

Ashley narrowed her eyes and then hopped off the counter taking off for her and Mitch's bedroom. Jax was trying not to snicker under his breath. They continued on to Christine's room and after about fifteen minutes everything was brought inside. Christine made Jax something to drink since he offered to help put her bed and desk together. While she was taking things out of boxes and putting things in their place she got up the courage to ask him something that had been bothering her since earlier.

"So, what does that patch mean? S-A-M-C-R-O? That some kind of nickname?"

He laughed, "No it's not a nickname. It's just for our motorcycle club."

She turned around to look at him "Motorcycle club? You're in a motorcycle club and you're how old? I thought that type of thing was for old guys going through midlife crises?"

"I'm eighteen and trust me our club isn't like that."

"You're only eighteen? I figured you were older." At least he acts older she thought. He still looks young but acts like he's thirty.

"Nope I'm still eighteen. How old are you? I'm gonna go with jail bate," he said with that same stupid smirk.

"I'm seventeen actually smartass. Not for too much longer though. "

"So you're living with your dad and I'm guessing your step mom?"

"Yeah," She did not like where this conversation was going. Small talk was fine but getting into her personal details was off limits. "Do you live with your mom and dad?" She asked trying to get the spotlight off herself.

"No I actually live by myself. Mom and Clay live across town."

"That's nice" She said putting more of her books under the window seat.

"You don't sound shocked that I live by myself."

"I'm not."

Thankfully he let the conversation go. It wasn't long before he finished putting everything together. Christine walked him to the door so she could thank him. Thank goodness Ashley was nowhere in sight.

"Well thanks for that. It probably would have taken me all night if you hadn't helped."

"No problem," he said pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.

She just stared at him for a minute before slamming the door.


	4. Her middle name should have been feisty

That night Christine was lying in bed reading a book when she heard her father come in. It wasn't long before she heard Ashley telling him all about what she had said. Of course she left out her little snide remark. When her dad came into her room he wasn't all that mad just frustrated.

"Why do you have to always say things like that to her? You know she's sensitive."

"Yeah she's sensitive enough to whine to you about what I said but she isn't too sensitive to start it."

"Can't you just get along? You know how you come off towards people."

"How I come off towards people? Are you kidding me right now? You know what, I don't even care. Just tell her to keep her mouth shut and I'll continue to ignore her like she isn't there. Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to read a book."

Her father got up but before he closed her door he stuck his head back in "By the way Ashley and I are taking off tomorrow night for business. We have to go back to Miami but we should be back in about four days. The people delivering the furniture Ash bought will be here but she'll take care of it."

"Okay. Goodnight."

Christine lay there thinking about how she could get out of the house tomorrow. Going school shopping would probably be her best bet. She really did need to get some notebooks and stuff since after tomorrow she would be starting school bright and early on Monday morning she thought rolling her eyes.

The next morning Christine got up and took a shower. After putting on jeans and a tank top, cowboy boots, and her camo Chevy hat she headed out. It wasn't long before she ran up on an office supply store. After wandering around for an hour and getting basic stuff she headed back out to her car. Before she got within five feet the smell of gas hit her. Then she noticed the puddle coming from the back end of her car.

"Shit!" she said before throwing her stuff in the backseat. Taking off her jacket so she wouldn't get it dirty she walked over and shimmied underneath so that she could get a better look at what was wrong. There was a tiny leak in one of the two fabric lines connecting the pump to the main fuel line. Trying to think what she could do she got out from under the car and looked in the trunk….. Duct Tape. She laughed a big laugh thinking of the people back home and their saying if you can't duct it fuck it. She got back under the car and did a quick fix knowing it wouldn't hold for long. She spotted a phone booth over near the front of the store and went to look in the phone book for car shops. There was only one close by. Teller-Morrow Garage. Of freaking course she thought. Of course that would be the only one near here. Looking through the book again she saw that the only other one close by was forty five minutes away. There was no way she was risking driving that far. There was no telling if the duct tape would hold that long. Ripping the section out of the phone book she walked back in the store to get directions. The lady at the counter drew her a map and she headed towards the garage. Pulling through the gate that surrounded the whole lot she pulled up outside of a building that was the garage and what looked like warehouse sat on the other side of the lot. There was a big picture of the Grim Reaper Jax had on the back of his vest on the side of the building. There were motorcycles EVERYWHERE. After getting out of her car she spotted an office on the side of the garage area which she supposed was where the check in was at. Christine felt really smart for wearing a ball cap. It actually looked good with her leather jacket and her other pair of boots. But the hat most definitely was serving a purpose of keeping her hidden now. When she walked in the office there was a middle aged woman who had on a black shirt with jeans and high heel boots. The woman had a sense of maturity about her but she didn't look old. Her hair was shorter than Christine's own. It came to her shoulders maybe a little longer and it was dark brown almost black with big bold blonde highlights. Christine figured she had to be pretty cool and confident to dress that way.

"Um, excuse me. Can I get somebody to replace the fabric line in my car?"

The woman looked up and then looked Christine up and down. Christine wasn't really sure if the woman liked what she was looking at or was unimpressed but when she finally spoke to her it didn't come out rudely so she figured it was the former.

"Yeah come on in here and sit down baby so I can get your information. I'm Gemma. Gemma Teller Morrow."

Gemma took down all of Christine's information and took her keys.

"Not too sure how long it will take for your car, but there are two other cars that are ahead of you. Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Nope I've got nothing else to do today. Is there somewhere I can sit and read?

"Well in here's fine but if the light isn't bright enough there are picnic tables outside. Do you want anything to drink? It's pretty hot out there today. I got some water bottles and Coca Cola."

"I'll take some water."

Gemma got up and went over to the mini fridge that was sitting on top of a table in the corner that also had coffee supplies on it. Christine watched as Gemma took the cap off the water and threw it away before handing it to her. Christine really didn't want to say anything so she just held it and looked around awkwardly. The woman obviously wasn't stupid so she picked up that something was weird right away.

"Something wrong with the water?"

"No no, well, I mean yes. It's just I don't drink things that are open. Something happened to me and now I'm just very wary of drinking things that are open."

Christine couldn't believe that she had just blurted that out. Shut up! She thought. Just shut up. Stop talking before you blurt out all of your business. She never talked to anybody about anything that happened; especially not since she was made the laughing stock of the town. Gemma gave her an all knowing glance and got her another bottle of water.

"No really I'm fine. I don't want to be any ruder. You were nice enough to give it to me in the first place. I'm real sorry," Christine said while getting herself all worked up.

"Listen, everybody has their weird little quirks and not drinking something that's open is not even that weird."

Gathering her bag and the new bottle of water from Gemma, Christine told her thank you and walked outside before she could embarrass herself anymore. Christine walked over to the picnic table that was out in the sun. She took off her jacket and laid it over the table and sat her things. She pulled out the book she was reading the night before and quickly got absorbed in it. A few drops of water hit her book awhile later and pulled her out of her reading. When she looked up she saw rain clouds. The rain came up so fast she couldn't get out of it in time. When she had gotten back to the office she was completely soaked.

"Well you're soaking wet."

"Yeah sorry, I'm not trying to track water in here. Storms sure do come up fast here don't they?"

"Yeah, they come up fast and leave just as fast. You got any extra clothes in your car? There's no way you can sit in wet clothes like that."

"No I don't, but I'm sure let up in a minute though and I'll just go dry off outside."

"No. I'm sure there are some extra clothes lying around in the club. One of the boys t-shirts at least."

"What club?"

"The motorcycle club right over there," she said pointing towards the building on the other side of the lot.

So that's what the big warehouse like building was. Gemma grabbed an umbrella and they ducked underneath it and dashed for the other building. When Christine walked in it was kind of like the time she went to Disneyland except instead of people in Disney costumes and families walking around there were bikers walking around with the same vests on that Jax had and girls, who looked more like strippers and hookers. The reaper that was on the back of Jax's vest was everywhere in this place too. But the inside of the club looked like a bar. To the left there were tables. Up ahead on the right was a bar and up ahead to the left was a pool table. Past that were a pair of double doors that were closed. There was a hallway past the bar and Gemma was dragging me that way. There was a wall of mug shots on the way. Gemma was dragging her so fast though that she didn't have a chance to look at them. Gemma drug Christine down the hall that cut off to the left at the end. There was a motorcycle and some pictures and stuff set up on display in an alcove on the wall. Gemma took her to the second door on the left and when they got inside closed the door. She checked to make sure no one was inside and found a white t-shirt that looked too big.

As she was handing them over Gemma said "Here's this, I'm gonna go see if any of the other girls have a pair of shorts or some jeans they've left in here. Some of 'em are about your size. This is my boy's room so just get changed. Nobody should come in but me. He's in a meeting with the club right now anyways and I'll be right back."

Gemma took off and left Christine standing there feeling awkward. She was in Jax's room which was pretty damn dirty if she said so herself. It also smelled like sweaty socks and ass. She quickly changed into the t-shirt after smelling to make sure it was clean and it swallowed her just like she figured it would. She walked into the bathroom to dry off her hair a little bit. Luckily there were towels in there. Her hat was soaked so she just had to let her hair down. When she looked in the mirror she saw that her hair had gotten curly like it always does when it's wet. When she walked out she noticed that there were pictures tucked into the side of the mirror so she walked over and looked at them. Christine saw a picture of Gemma. There was a man standing on her left with sunglasses on. He had short white hair and a goatee beard on the other side of Gemma was Jax. Next to that was a picture of a man with Brown hair about the length of Jax's. It was an older picture. Then the last picture was of two little boys. Hoping that Gemma would hurry she thought about Jax walking in. Yeah, that's all I need, is for him to walk in here and think I'm a stalker and I'm stealing his clothes. Not long after that Gemma came back in with a pair of shorts; which were extremely shorter than your average shorts. These would have made even Daisy Duke blush.

"Sorry these were all I could scrape up. But the good thing is I think the shirt will reach down longer over them. Just come on out when you get done changing," she said as she walked out the door.

Christine sat her bag down and took off her pants and slipped on the shorts. They made her feel uncomfortable like she was wearing underwear. But Gemma was right the t-shirt came down at least three inches past them. She picked up her bag and opened the door. Gemma wasn't standing outside of it like Christine figured she would be. She walked back towards the front but didn't see her. Christine was about to turn around and go look the other way when she spotted Jax and a group of guys coming out of the double doors she had spotted when she first came in. She quickly turned her back to him and started chanting in her head, _Please don't see me. Please don't see me. Please don't see me. _The next thing she knew someone had come up behind her and put their arms around her waist from behind.

"Hey now let's get this party started." He said in the back of her hair.

Christine immediately went into panic mode and what she learned in self-defense class took over. In the blink of an eye she had the guy laying on his back on the floor gasping for air. When she realized that he had thought she was someone else she bent down and started apologizing. Gemma walked in while all the other guys, including Jax, were laughing at the guy who they were calling Tig. When Gemma got over to Christine she asked her if she was alright. Tig was still lying there groaning.

"Gemma I'm so sorry. He came up behind me and grabbed me and I just reacted. Oh my gosh this is embarrassing," she said while trying to pick her bag back up off the floor.

"Hey. Calm down. That what he deserves anyways for grabbing on people," Gemma said laughing. "Can't really help it though. Tig's been a groper as long as I've known him."

Tig started to get up so Christine offered her hand to help him up. Jax, the white haired man from the picture, Juice, and an older guy with an oxygen machine came walking over.

"Ma, what are you doing over here and who's this?" Jax said.

He didn't recognize her until she broke her gaze on the floor and looked up at him. Then he smirked and said "Well if it isn't Cornbread from next door."

Gemma looked at Christine then back at Jax while one of the guy's standing there said "Hell Jackie boy, this is the lass who you were talking about yesterday? She doesn't look all that feisty." This guy had an Irish accent and light brown hair with some grey in it. He also had scars going up his cheeks from either side of his mouth.

Christine's face got red and she started babbling "I didn't steal your shirt; your mom gave it to me. Mine got wet. I told her I'd be fine but she insisted." Then she quickly turned to Gemma "Have they fixed my car? I really should be getting home," and then she took off towards the door. Once out the door she spotted her car. It was in the same place. Of course, she though. My car wouldn't be done yet. She had made it half way to it before someone grabbed her arm. She quickly turned around and saw that it was Jax. He had that little smirk on his face and that really got under her skin.

"What the hell are you smirking about? I'm glad you find this mess funny."

As he was laughing he said "I'm sorry but there you go with your hands on your hips again. You really are a hot head."

Ignoring what he just said "Do you know when they're gonna be able to fix my car?"

"Follow me."

He was still smiling but Christine wasn't mad anymore. As he walked towards the office she stopped and threw her wet clothes in the backseat of the car. Then followed him to where he was standing inside. He flipped through the stack of papers until he came across hers. Then he walked through the door between the garage and the office. She reluctantly followed. She hung back when he went over to talk to one of the guys. Then he walked over to her car and pulled it into the garage.  
>"So the lines busted?"<p>

"Yeah I walked out of the store and there was gas everywhere. I fixed it with duct tape until I could get here. I figure there might be some more damage that I couldn't see."

They raised the car up to get underneath it. It didn't take them to long to fix the line. They took it back down off the lift and cranked it to make sure it was running. Jax walked over to get Christine who had fallen asleep in one of the office chairs. He shook her a little bit and she jumped looking around.

"Hey, sorry about that. We're done with your car."

Christine stood up pulling the t-shirt down and grabbing her bag. They had pulled the car back into one of the parking places. She walked towards the car and Jax followed her.  
>"Thanks a lot. I already paid your mom when y'all were working." She said opening the door and standing there. "I'll get your shirt back to you and these shorts back to… well whoever they belong too."<p>

She climbed in her car and shut the door. "Tell your mom I said thanks by the way. For the dry clothes and all." She then cranked her car and pulled out.

The whole way home she couldn't believe how much she embarrassed herself. When she got home it was around four in the afternoon. All the furniture was there and arranged and there was a note on the counter.

_Christine,_

_Went ahead and took off early. We'll be back around Friday if we don't get caught up. Left the credit card so you would have some spending money. _

_-Dad _

There wasn't any I love you or anything. Of course she didn't really expect there to be. Her relationship with her dad had never been that way. Putting the letter back down on the counter she refused to even pick up the credit card. Needing to take a nap she lay down but couldn't sleep. Tomorrow was her first day of school. On top of that she was starting to get a headache. Deciding that sleep wasn't going to come right now she made her a sandwich and then took a shower to relax. Her head was still pounding when she was laying there at eleven that night. She heard someone crank music up next door. She put her pillow over her head to try and block it out. It was too loud though and she couldn't. After two hours they still hadn't let up. Two long hours of her getting more and more pissed off. She had even started pacing. She had to be up at six to get ready for school. At this rate she wasn't going to get any sleep. Going outside in her tank top and pajama shorts barefoot she took off down the driveway and towards the house with the music. Of course it was Jax's house. This made her even madder although she didn't know why. Walking up through the yard she saw a few people eyeing her. They were mostly guys standing around drinking with girls who looked like complete sluts. When she got to the door she banged on it so hard she thought she broke her hand. It sounded like one of those knocks that the police use when they come looking for someone; loud and to the point. Nobody came to the door though. She could hear the party going on inside. She turned around and kicked the door with the heel of her foot three times. This time everybody got quiet inside. It wasn't but a few seconds before Jax opened the door with his eyes at half mass. She could tell that he was drunk. The guys who were in the house were also looking from where they were standing like they were waiting for something to jump off. Someone cut off the music. Although everyone was staring Christine was still way beyond pissed to be nice.

"Do you know what fucking time it is?" She yelled. But continued without and answer, "It's around one a.m. Not only do I have a headache from hell I have to be up at six in the morning and I can't sleep with all this fucking racket going on over here. So turn the shit down. Do you hear me? If I have to come back over here I'm gonna beat the shit out of you." With that she turned on her heel to go back to her house. There were a bunch of "Ohhhh's" from the guys. They're all childish she thought. Every last one of em acting like ignorant children. Nobody had turned the music back on though and she hadn't heard anyone close the front door. When she got to her own door she saw that Jax was still standing there looking her way. She slammed her front door as hard as she could. Ha! She thought, let him stare at that. She climbed into bed and fell asleep.


	5. Haunting Thoughts

There wasn't any music to wake her up throughout the night, but when her alarm went off at six she was far from having enough sleep. She hit the snooze button and went back to sleep. Five more minutes would help.

When Christine woke up there was a ton of sunlight coming in through her window. She hurriedly tried to grab her phone off her bedside table knocking it on the floor in the process. She fell off the bed trying to grab it. Looking at the time she jumped up and started towards the bathroom. It was eight a.m. She was supposed to be at school twenty minutes ago. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and threw on some clothes. She put on some mascara ran her fingers through her hair and then looked at herself in the mirror. It would have to do. She grabbed her bag and headed for the car locking the front door behind her. When she pulled up at school there wasn't anybody around outside, but of course everybody was already in class. After waiting for the older lady who worked the front desk, with way too much red lipstick and blue eye shadow on, whose name was Mrs. Bradchaw to give her her schedule she navigated her way to her first class. When she opened the door all eyes fell on her. She could feel her face turning red. Everyone was looking her up and down. Of course she couldn't blame everybody for staring because she had on her spaghetti strap sun dress with the flowers all over it and her cowboy boots. She hadn't seen anybody else in cowboy boots since she got as far as Texas. Walking over to her new math teacher she handed her her schedule so she would know she was supposed to be there. The teacher looked it over and handed it back.

"Class this is Christine Lancer. She's a new student. Christine why don't you introduce yourself."

Christine couldn't help from widening her eyes at the teacher. This was already embarrassing enough without calling even more attention to herself.

Clearing her throat Christine turned around to face everybody and speak.

"Hey y'all," she heard some girls near the back snicker but continued. "I'm Christine and I'm a senior. I just moved here from a small town in the mountains in North Carolina."

She looked over at the teacher to see if that pacified her and it did. The teacher pointed to an empty seat in the middle of the rows and rows of desks. After class on her way out a taller boy with dark green eyes and short brown surfer hair stopped her.

"Hey Honky Tonk wait up."

"What the hell is with everybody coming up with these stupid nicknames for me?" She asked leveling him with a glare.

"Hey I'm sorry," he said holding up his arms in an apology. "I was just messing around. What's your next class?"

She looked down at her schedule. "I have biology with a Mr. Avery."

"That's right near where I'm going, come one and I'll show you."

Following him towards another building she saw that he was wearing tan board shorts and a white and blue striped polo shirt. He was also wearing brown flip flops and a necklace with shells on it. He has surfer boy written all over him. She could also tell that he was sweet. He didn't act cocky like most guys. Or at least he had everybody fooled.

"So what's your name?" she asked keeping her eyes focused on the ground.

"Oh, yeah I probably should have mentioned that. My names Brad, Brad Michaels. So you just moved here huh? Where from?"

"A little small town in North Carolina, about twenty minutes outside of Tennessee."

There was no way she was going to tell him exactly where. Someone could find out. There is no way I can let that happen. This is supposed to be my new start.

"Christine! Hellllooooooo!" Brad said chuckling, "Are you in there."

"Yeah sorry, I was just lost in thought. What's up?"

"We're here," he said pointing to an open door.

"Thanks a lot. It was nice meeting you Brad."

After her third class, which had been just like her first two, she had lunch. Walking into the cafeteria she saw right away that the place was cliquey. She saw most of the white kids who looked preppy sat in one area, the Hispanics in another, and then the blacks were in another area. Hadn't racism ended a long time ago? Jeez. After she grabbed her lunch she walked towards an empty table in the middle of the black and Hispanic groups. Everybody got kind of quiet and stared. She just went on and sat down. She pulled out her book and started eating. The chatter in the cafeteria picked back up for a little bit. Then it got completely silent. As soon as she was about to look up she saw Jax sit down at her table.

"You really shouldn't be sitting right here," she could tell that he was dead serious but her anger from the night before outweighed listening to him.

"I'll sit anywhere I like I'll have you know. But feel free to pick yourself up and go on somewhere else." He had dark circles under his eyes and it looked as though his hang over was giving him hell. Good she thought. That's what he deserves.

"Oh come on," he said pushing his notebook and book that he was carrying to the side. "There isn't any reason to act like that. I am sorry about last night though. Our parties get out of hand sometimes." He looked sincere with his little grin.

"Alright then, and I should probably apologize for acting like a psycho bitch last night. Not like you didn't deserve it."

"Yeah well we usually don't have anybody come and try to tell us what to do like that. But since you're new and all…"

Before he could finish gunshots rang out through the cafeteria. Jax got up so fast she hadn't even had time to process it. There had been a fight that had broken out between the blacks and the Hispanics. School officers were now pulling them apart and putting handcuffs on the guy with the gun. As Christine was getting up to grab her stuff and move she bumped into Jax not paying attention. He had got up and basically put himself in between her and the gun. She put her hand up to tap his side so she could get out and felt that he was carrying a gun himself. She pushed him again to get him to move and this time he did. Christine could feel herself shaking as she pulled her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her notebook leaving her lunch and her trash lying on the table. She had to get out of here, she felt like she was going to cry.

"Maybe you're right. I shouldn't sit here. I think I'm gonna blow off my last class so I'll talk to you later," She mumbled not meeting his eye.

"Yeah I think I'm gonna leave too. I'll walk out with you."

They walked out of the cafeteria and headed for the parking lot. Jax wasn't parked that far away from where she had parked and he walked her over to her car first. She was starting to feel angry for letting someone get her so scared like that. Being scared and vulnerable was one of the things that really upset her. She liked to be in control and feeling like this was far from it. It's one of the things that had made that night so horrible four months ago. Even though she hadn't been able to control what had happened to her she should have been able to control how she handled it, but that hadn't been the case. Christine decided to lash out and take her anger out on him.

"So what the hell you doing carrying a piece into school for? Are you stupid or something? Are you trying to go to jail?"

"How do you know I'm carrying a piece?" he looked truly baffled that she knew. "And I carry it for protection. Obviously you can see that it's needed around here."

"I felt it when I reached up to get your attention in there. I guess you didn't notice that when you were trying to play Robin Hood. Carrying that around is stupid! What if you get caught? Pretty sure you go to jail for having one of those on you on school property. Just because you have one don't mean you should carry it around everywhere."

She could tell he was staring to get aggravated. His face was starting to get red.

"You're new here so don't talk about stuff you don't understand" he said with his eyes narrowed.

She slung her door open and leaned over to the glove compartment pulling out the G21 .45 automatic to show him how wrong he was.

"Don't tell me I don't understand about fucking protection. You think just because I'm new I ain't seen shit? Well let me inform you that where I'm from bad shit happens too."

Looking at her with a look she didn't recognize he said "Follow me back to the club," Before she could protest he cut her off with "Just do it."

So she got in her car and followed him back to the garage/club. Trying to convince herself the whole way that she was coming because she wanted too and not because he had told her too. Pulling in to one of the parking spaces she went to get out but he called back to her from where he was getting off his bike and taking off his helmet and told her to grab her gun. After grabbing it, her bag, and the extra bullets she had stashed underneath her seat. She walked over to where Jax was putting up three targets on one of the concrete walls that was part of the fence.

"What are we doing?"

"Blowing off steam. You know how to use that thing?" He asked cocking an eyebrow at her in a smug way. Ha! He thought she didn't know what she was doing.

"Well I don't know. I reckon I could show you better than I could tell you." He moved out of the way and nodded towards the targets telling her to go ahead. She sat down her bag and took the safety off. Lifting up the gun she fired three shots; each one hitting the center of the head on the target. When she turned around to look back at him he was just gaping at her.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that? I didn't think you'd know how to use it."

"Let's just say something happened back home and after it did happen I refused to let it happen again."

There was a question right on the tip of his tongue but he let it go sensing she didn't want to talk about it. She walked over and reloaded three bullets. He stood up to take her place and she sat down on the top of the picnic table to watch him.

He pulled out the .45 caliber m1911 that he had under his cut. At first he fired two shots. One in the head and the other where a heart would be. She started to laugh to herself because she thought he was a bad shot, but then he did the same to the other two hitting them in the same exact place as the first. He was as good a shot as she was if not better.

"The trick is you just think about someone who really pisses you off. Then you pretend the point you want to hit is them. Harness your anger. Now you try," he said nodding towards the targets.

Christine got up again and walked over to the spot they were shooting from. Holding the gun in both hands pointed at the ground and staring at the center target she thought about that night. About him taking advantage of her and how small he had made her feel. All the bruises and pain. About that last night how even though she said No over and over again he didn't stop. Then she thought about that look in his eye. That blank stare like he wasn't even there. Like he was just an empty shell. Snapping back from her thoughts she realized someone had their hands on her arms trying to look her in the eye. She was crying and her breath was coming in ragged gasps. She could make out Jax's words '_Slow down your breathing. You're alright. Just calm down.' _But her body wasn't listening to her mind. She started to see the spots and she knew she was going to pass out before the darkness fully came over her. Then she was weightless.


	6. Being Followed

Okay, so I've been meaning to leave a note but I keep forgetting. I just wanted to tell you guys thanks for reading this. I didn't think anybody would really want to. Also thanks for the amazing reviews. They really make me want to keep writing more. Don't feel like you have to write reviews though. I'm not an attention whore or anything. I always see people who say "Leave reviews or I wont write anymore." Which I find ridiculous.

On another not someone did say something about Gemma being more involved. I do want to bring Gemma into the story more. The only reason I'm not jumping into it is because Gemma's character in the show has been created so well but the one thing about her is she doesn't just open up to people. She's wary like any scensible person in her position would be. So I don't want to change her character that much in this. That being said there are certain times she may do things in my story that Gemma might not usually do. It just depends what works best for the story.

Also I am in college and I do have classes to worry about so I may not be able to write everyday like I have been doing. If this ends up being the case I will try my best to write atleast every three days. Another annoyance I find is people who make others wait for weeks and even months before they upload something. I don't want anyone to do me like that so I don't want to do you guys like that either. Then again I may end up writing more than once a day. But again thank you guys so much. God Bless and keep reading (:

Christine could hear people talking around her and at first it was bothering her. All she wanted to do was sleep. Then she started making out distinct voices and what the conversation was about.

'_Mom, I don't know what happened! We were out there fooling around shooting at targets and she freaked out.'_

'_Well something must have happened for her to freak out that way. What did you say to her?'_

'_I just told her to imagine somebody that really pissed her off so she could hit the target where she wanted.'_

She heard something make a slapping noise which must have been Gemma smacking Jax in the back of the head because it was followed with a '_Ow Mom! What did you do that for?'_

'_Hush! I knew that girl had some demons from her past that day in the office and they must be serious and here you are bringing them up!'_

Christine couldn't listen to this anymore or she would start crying again and it sounded like she'd embarrassed herself enough as is. She felt that she was laying on something hard but it felt velvety under her fingertips. She cracked her eyes open and everything was way too bright but she could see that she was in the club, and laying on one of the pool tables. She sat up but had to grab onto the edge of the pool table to steady herself gripping so hard that her knuckles turned white. Jax and Gemma were in the kitchen behind the bar and hadn't noticed her yet so she quietly slid off of the table and grabbed her stuff that someone had laid beside her. She looked inside her purse on the walk to the door and saw that her gun and everything else were in there. Quietly opening and shutting the door behind her so not to let anyone know she was up she quickly walked to her car. Once inside she put the gun back in the glove compartment, cranked the car, and took off.

When Christine got home she pulled her car into the driveway and hurried inside. Without eating or showering she just climbed into bed in her clothes and cried. Letting all the embarrassment of the day wash over her. Then drifted off to sleep.

_*TAP TAP TAP*_

Christine sat straight up in bed and feeling the tightness of her face from where her tears had sat. Her nose was also stuffy and her head was pounding. What had woken her up though? Then she heard it again.

*_TAP TAP TAP*_

The noise was coming from her window. Thinking about all the horror stories she had ever watched and thinking about the one she had lived in the past year she was terrified as she walked towards her window. Please don't let there be a scary face out there, please don't let there be a scary face out there she chanted. Pulling back her black curtains she saw a face but it wasn't scary. It was Jax. She opened the latch and pushed out on the window.

"What are you doing here?" she asked not meeting his eye.

"I came to see if you were alright Ms. Up and leave without telling anyone. You should have seen my mom's face when she saw that you were gone. Even I have never been able to put that shocked look on her face."

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to worry her," she said starting to cry.

She turned her back towards Jax and tried to calm herself down. Gosh she thought, why can't I quit blubbering like a baby? She heard Jax moving around outside or so she thought. In the next second he turned her around to face him and wrapped his arms around him. Christine let out all of her tears while Jax led her over to the bed not saying a word and just letting her get it all out.

A little while later they were laying there on the bed just being silent. Christine was lying on her stomach with her head facing Jax in the crook of his arm with her left arm thrown across his stomach. Jax was rubbing his left arm up and down her right arm like he had been doing for a while. Christine moved in the slightest and he moved his hand onto her back rubbing underneath his shirt. She tensed up when his fingers ran across the eleven inch scar across her back. Instead of asking what it was or taking his hand away he started running his finger back and forth across it. Christine's body relaxed she couldn't help the nagging feeling of wanting to know what he was thinking.

"What are you thinking?" she whispered.

He didn't say anything at first. He didn't say anything for at least five minutes. But when he did speak she could tell he was smiling. She could hear it in his voice when he whispered.

"My brother and I were really into tattoo's when we were kids and I remember he had gotten hurt and after it healed was complaining to mom how everyone was gonna laugh because it looked ugly. She said to him "Scars are just tattoos with stories" and after that he showed it to everybody we were around."

"Your brother sounds like he was a good kid. Did he grow up to be the same way?"

There was another silence and when Jax spoke there wasn't any happiness in his voice at all.

"No he didn't. He didn't grow up at all."

Christine tightened her arm around Jax's stomach because it was the only thing she knew to do to try and comfort him. She didn't ask him how his brother had died. She didn't want to bring up any more bad memories tonight. When he picked back up where he left off on rubbing her scar Christine drifted off to sleep without meaning too.

The sound of the alarm on Christine's phone woke her up at six a.m. Reaching over and hitting the end button to cut it off she lay back down and stared at the ceiling. She was in bed alone. Had she really dreamed that last night? It had felt so real. Pushing herself up off the bed she went and got in the shower. After she was done she stood there letting the cold water run on her skin for a while. When she finally got out she looked at herself in the mirror for a minute before turning around to look over her shoulder at her scar. Scars are just tattoos with stories she thought. Then she smiled. A simple smile that she didn't think would come with thinking about her scar. He had pushed her into a mirror that night. The big gash on her back had luckily been the only piece of the glass to cut her badly. All those shards of glass had fallen like rain down around her and she was a crying mess. One of the first times she had ever passed out. Not before she could see him looking instantly sorry for what he had done. It usually took him a little while to feel sorry but not this time. When she woke up she was in a hospital bed lying on her stomach. He was holding her hand looking concerned. Christine had later found out that he told them she fell down the stairs and into the table and mirror at the bottom. The people working at the hospital had believed him. For a whole week he hadn't lashed out at her. Wrapping a towel around her Christine opened the bathroom door and walked into her bedroom to put on some clothes. She quickly stopped in her tracks when she saw Jax laid back on her bed with his hat pulled down over his eyes. His hair was still a little bit damp and he had on a clean pair of clothes. So last night had happened. He had left to take a shower. She walked over to her closet and opened it sort of loudly but refused to acknowledge him. She pulled out a pair of dark skinny jeans and a Black and grey speckled zip up hoodie and then walked over to her dresser to get a white tank top and some panties. She walked back into her bathroom grabbing her bra off the door and got dressed. Drying her hair with a towel and then putting it in a ponytail she looked in the mirror. Everything looked good. She put on some mascara and walked back out of the bathroom. He was still lying in the same place but she could tell he was asleep by his deep breathing. Grabbing her black high heeled knee high boots and a pair of socks she went and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. Sitting her boots on the floor so she could pull her socks on she looked over at him. He had lifted up his hat and was looking at her.

"Well good morning sunshine," she said pulling on her left sock.

He made a grumbling noise. She laughed and put on her right sock. He must not be a morning person. But really who really is a morning person. Staying in bed all day always sounds tempting. She put on her boots and got them zipped up and turned her body towards him. She reached out and poked him in the stomach gently.

"Come on. We have to get to school before we're late. I already missed yesterday afternoon."

He reached up so fast she didn't have time to react and grabbed her around the waste and pulled her down next to him.

"Or," he whispered. "We could lay here and sleep the day away like normal people."

She sighed and then lay there for a minute. The offer was tempting but it being her first week at school she didn't want them to think she was a flake.

"Tempting but no I have to go. So come on," she said climbing up off the bed. She reached down and grabbed his and to pull him up.

He sat up and fixed his hat and then stood up.

"Well, we can at least go get breakfast."

She didn't protest. Not eating anything last night really had her starving. She grabbed her bag, books, cellphone, and keys off of her desk and walked towards the front door with Jax trailing behind her sluggishly. When he finally came out the front door she locked it. She was walking towards her car but he caught her wrist to stop her.

"Ride with me today."

Ha! She was terrified to climb on that bike. She wouldn't be in control.

He must have seen panic fly across her face because he quickly said "It's safe. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't." Then a smile played across his lips "You aren't too scared are you? Never pegged you as a chicken."

He knew what to say to get right under her skin. Without a word she turned on her heel not heading towards her car but towards Jax's house where his motorcycle was waiting. She put her books inside of her bag along with all her other stuff put on her aviators and then put her bag strap across her body. Jax handed her a helmet and she quickly put it on. Jax climbed on first putting up the kickstand holding up the bike so she could get on. As soon as she got on she had second thoughts.

"Maybe I should just drive my own…"

Her words were drowned out by the bike being started. She hurriedly wrapped her arms around him. She could feel him laughing but before she could get too mad he took off. Even though she was holding on to him his jacket kept making it feel like she was falling or slipping. She stuck her hands underneath his shirt and held on to him. She could feel every breath he was taking. Slow and easy. He really loved this. It didn't take too long to get to the little diner across town. When Jax pulled into a space and turned off the bike she was still clinging to him.

"You can let go now. We're here." He said laughing.

Taking her hands from underneath his shirt and throwing her leg over the bike she climbed off. Her legs felt like spaghetti noodles. Jax's phone started ringing and before he picked it up he looked at her.

"You go ahead and grab that. I'll go get us a table."

He nodded before saying "Yeah" into the phone.

Christine walked into the diner pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. She walked to a booth towards the back and sat down her stuff.

"Christine?" she heard right before she was about to slide into the booth.

She turned and looked over her shoulder and there was Brad walking towards her. She slid on into her seat and looked up at him.

"Hey Brad. How are you?"

"I'm good. Looks like you found the local breakfast spot. You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry though. You here by yourself?"

"No she's not." Jax said from behind him.

Christine hadn't even seen him come in or heard him walk up. Brad turned around quickly and then turned back to Christine.

"S-So I guess I'll see you at school Christine." He said before hurrying out the door of the diner.

Jax walked over and sat down in the seat opposite her. She could tell that he wasn't in a good mood. He was glaring at everything.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he snapped.

"Whoa. I didn't do anything to you. So don't fucking snap at me that way."

Before he could say anything the waitress came over and asked what they wanted to order.

"I'll get a stack of pancakes with some bacon and a Pepsi to drink," he said sliding his menu to her.

Christine gave her menu a once over again and then handed it to the waitress.

"I want a gravy biscuit, two eggs sunny side up, some bacon, an order of hash browns, and a glass of orange juice please."

The waitress finished writing it down and then walked back towards the cooking area on the other side of the bar. Christine turned to look at Jax and his eyes were wide.

"Don't worry. I always pay for my own food," she said.

"Where are you going to put all that? You're smaller than me!"

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked teasingly.

He glared at her again but this time it was more playful.

"So, Clay called and I have to go take care of something at the club before school. If you don't want to go I can drop you off at your car."

"Nope that's fine. We're gonna be late anyways. Plus I think I'm starting to fall in love with your motorcycle," she said sarcastically.

He laughed. "Yeah says the girl who squeezed her legs around me so tight going around curves I could barely breathe."

She didn't say anything back but she could feel her face getting warm. Their waitress brought their food and they ate and talked about how sick she would be if she ate all her food. Much to his surprise she did finish it all.

"That is one of the craziest things I think I've ever seen. I've never seen a girl put it away like that. You sure you're not gonna be sick? I don't want you throwing up on me," he said smiling at her.

"No! I'm not gonna be sick. I told you I could finish my food like a champ. I mean what I say."

They got up and Jax paid for the food, although Christine practically begged him to let her pay for her own. She figured she would get his next time. If there was a next time that is. Pushing her sunglasses back on she walked out before him. He held the door for her and then they walked back to his bike. She put the helmet back on and waited for him to climb on so she could climb on the back. As soon as she got sit down she out her hands back under his shirt and held on. She felt his stomach muscles tighten and then he chuckled.

"Your hands are cold you know. You're going to make me wreck doing that."

"Sorry, but this is the only way I'm riding," she said being serious. "I feel safe this way."

He didn't say anything else and just started the bike and took off. This time Christine did feel more at ease. Although she did tighten her legs like he said which was involuntary but she did look around a lot more this time. After the first two blocks she noticed a car that had been following them. It wasn't just somebody who was behind them this car was trying not to be seen staying a few cars behind. They were definitely following them though. She put her lips up next to Jax's hear being careful not to knock his hat off since he wasn't wearing a helmet. He had turned his hat around backwards so that it wouldn't blow off.

"Jax!," she yelled.

"Yeah?" he hollered over his shoulder. This whole speaking while riding thing was hard she thought.

"There's a car following us. I've been watching for the past four blocks and they've definitely been following us since we left the diner."

Jax looked in one of his mirrors and sure enough he saw the car.

"Christine, I need you to really hold on okay? Like tight!"

Christine wasn't going to argue she tightened her arms around him and closed any gap between them. She was as close as she could get to him. She turned her head to the side and laid it on his back. Everything was going by so fast so she just closed her eyes. They had to be going at least one hundred and ten. She had gotten her car up to ninety on a straight away back home and it hadn't felt this fast. She just knew they were going to crash. She knew she was going to fly off this bike and die. Nobody could live through that she thought. She didn't open her eyes until the bike had completely stopped and that was after Jax reached under his shirt to rub his thumb back and forth over her hand.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll let you know when the rest of my body catches up."

"Jackson Teller!" Christine turned to see Gemma almost running across the parking lot towards them. "What the hell do you think you were doing? I could hear you coming five minutes ago. You must have been flying! What did I tell you about that? And look here you've got this girl on the back probably scared half to death!"

"Mom..."

"No! Don't even think about making up excuses. I'll kick your little ass."

"Gemma?" Christine said warily. Gemma rounded and looked at her as if truly seeing her for the first time. "There was a car following us. That's why he was flying."

"What?" she said looking at Jax for confirmation. "Who was it?"

"Mayans. I wouldn't have even seen them coming up if Christine wouldn't have been on the back. She's got a good eye."

Christine pulled her hands out from under his shirt trying not to catch Gemma's attention. She could only imagine how weird this would look. Then pulled off her helmet.

"Jax go on inside they're waiting for you. Make sure to let Clay know what happened."

Christine climbed off the bike and handed Jax the helmet she was still holding and stood there kind of awkwardly.

"You can come on over here with me until he gets done," Gemma said.

Jax gave her a nod and headed for the club house while Gemma and Christine headed for the office attached to the garage.

Christine sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk and Gemma sat down in her chair behind the desk. She leaned on her elbows and sighed.

"I swear that little shit's gonna give me a heart attack."

Christine didn't say anything figuring it would be better at first. Then she thought about yesterday.

"Sorry for running out of here before saying thank you yesterday."

"Yeah, you had Jax and I scared. You shouldn't have driven yourself home."

"Yeah I was kind of embarrassed."

Christine ended up outside reading again. Gemma had told her to sit at the tables that were up against the club and out of site from the road. She thought it was kind of weird but she didn't argue. She had read two chapters in her book when she heard a bunch of people coming out of the club.

"Jax you shouldn't be riding alone. They'll probably try it again." That was the big one Opie she thought.

"Ope's right. Him and Juice will ride with you." That was the white haired man named Clay.

"I'm telling you I can handle it I don't need them to ride along."

"They could have killed you earlier. If you wouldn't have seen them it probably would have happened. No arguments there going with you." Clay again.

Killed? Christine was starting to panic. Breathe she told herself. Calm down and breathe. If you pass out you aren't doing anybody any good. All the guys took off in different directions but Juice spotted Christine and nudged Jax nodding in her direction. Jax walked over by himself and sat on the top of the picnic table beside her.

"So how much of that did you hear?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked playing dumb.

He looked at her with a look that said cut the bullshit.

"Okay. So I heard everything y'all said when you came outside. Why were people trying to kill you? Us…You?"

Jax sighed "There's a lot I should tell you, but I can't. Not because I don't want to but because I can't."

Christine tried to process this but she found herself laughing. Jax looked at her questioningly.

"It just sounds like you're in a cult or something."

Jax didn't laugh "I'm not in a cult. But the Mayans. They're a gang. I'm not going to let anything happen to you though."

The way he looked in her eyes like he was trying to touch her soul startled her. His eyes looked so clear and honest.

"So, what now?" she asked him.

"Well I guess now I get you to school."

"You know, I ate a big breakfast and I could really use a nap." She said smiling at him.

"I can definitely do that." He said jumping down off the table.

Christine put her book back in her bag and followed him over to his bike. He handed her the helmet which she put on. Opie and Juice had followed them over after they left the picnic table. They were now climbing on their own bikes. Jax climbed on and then Christine. She didn't want to grab him like earlier with everyone around so she just grabbed around him holding on to his coat.

"Don't drive fast please." She whispered to him.

Jax reached down and moved her hands underneath his shirt where they had been earlier.

"I want you to feel safe." He said right before cranking the bike.

The ride home was a lot slower and Christine didn't see any cars following them. When they got to the end of their road Jax stopped and hollered at the other two.

"You two can head out. We're not going anywhere else."

They didn't ask questions. They turned and left. Jax pulled into his own driveway and turned off the engine. Christine hopped off the back and Jax stood the bike up. She handed him his helmet which he put on the seat. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his house.


	7. Too far too fast

Walking inside Christine didn't know what to expect other than a bachelor pad that would be dirty and messy. Jax's house was far from it. It did look like a bachelor pad in the sense that everything had a manly touch to it and there were no frilly things anywhere, but it was clean. Jax walked into the kitchen that was off to the left and left her standing there.

"Make yourself at home," she heard him call to her.

She could hear him checking his answering machine. She took off her jacket and put it and her bag on the back of the couch in the living room that was straight ahead. There was a hallway off to the right before you got to the living room. She could see pictures on the walls. She walked that way taking each one in. One of all the guys from the club at what looked like a family get together. They were all smiling especially Jax, whose boyish grin was the first face she had noticed. Gemma was wrapped up in Clay's arms and they all looked like one big happy family. The next picture was actually a poster. It was of a grim reaper. Such a boy's house she thought smiling. Moving on to the last picture she saw that it was of the two little boys that had been in the picture in Jax's room at the club, which she now realized must be his brother. There with them was the man with dark hair that had been in the other picture. The man was sitting on a motorcycle and one boy, who she could now tell was Jax by the big smile on his face that seemed not to change over the years, was sitting in front of him on the bike holding onto the handle bars. The other boy was standing up behind the man on the back of the bike with his arms around the man's neck. They were all smiling big genuinely happy smiles. It didn't look forced like most pictures usually do. She could also see that all three of them had the same eyes and smile. That must be his brother and his dad she thought.

"I was five then."

Christine whirled around grabbing her chest while her eyes looked like saucers. Jax was leaning up against the opposite wall of the hallway like he had been there the whole time. He just looked at her amused that she so easily scared.

"Don't do that! Are you trying to scare me to death or something?"

She let out a breath and other than her heart still racing she started to calm back down. Jax shook his head and smiled walking past her into the door on the left. After standing there a minute feeling awkward she followed him. He was lying on the bed flipping through TV channels. His left arm was underneath his head acting as an extra pillow. She leaned against the door jamb and watched him for a minute. He had kicked off his sneakers and taken off his hat. His hair was tousled and messy looking. He looked perfectly imperfect.

He looked over at her and caught her smiling at him. "What are you smiling at?"

She quickly put on her poker face "Nothing."

"There is room for two over here," he said nodding towards the other side of the bed.

She eyed him warily from the door. Almost as if he was a snake ready to strike at the slightest sign of movement.

"You know I didn't bring you over here to have sex with you or anything," he said with his all-knowing grin.

Christine walked to the other side of his bed and sat down on the edge taking off her boots and socks then scooted back to sit up against the headboard. After a bout of silence she rolled over on her side to look at him.

"Is that your dad in that picture in the hall?"

He turned his sleepy eyes in her direction. "Yeah."

"I could tell. You have his eyes and his smile."

He didn't open his eyes that were now closed when he spoke, "So I've heard."

She rolled over onto her stomach crossing her arms under the pillow her head was laying on. Her head was turned towards the wall away from him from him but she felt the bed move and then felt his warm hand go up under her tank top to find the scar; his finger going back and forth. Her heart started to race again and her body felt hot. Christine turned her head to face him and he was staring right back at her. She leaned over until her lips were mere centimeters apart from his own. She could feel his breath entangling with hers. She looked into his eyes again pleading with her own for him to make the final move. Jax leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. He shifted his weight deepening the kiss. Christine was now lying on her back underneath him. One of his hands was behind her neck and the other was under her shirt making its way up her side. She reached up and pulled out her hair tie that was digging uncomfortably into the back of her head. Jax pulled her tank top off and threw it in the floor then kissed her again. Christine pulled his t-shirt up over his head. His upper body looked like Michael Angelo's David. Christine felt like all her nerve endings were on overdrive. Jax held himself up on his forearms watching her while she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off. Then he lowered himself back down and started to kiss her neck. When he sucked on her neck a few inches below her ear she let out an involuntary gasp digging her nails into his back. Christine tensed up when she heard something.

"Jax… Jax stop," she whispered pulling away from him.

"Hmm?" he grunted looking up at her worried like he had done something wrong. "What is it?"

"Did you hear that?"

He sighed. "No I didn't hear anything."

He went to lean back down to kiss her and they both heard it. Someone had just sat keys down on a table with a clang and the sounds of rattling bags came down the hallway.

"Jax come in here." Gemma called down the hallway.

Christine shoved Jax off of her and fell off the bed into the floor grabbing her jeans and hurriedly standing up and trying to pull them on. She was hopping up and down trying to shove her legs in and Jax was watching her from across the room pulling on his t-shirt.

"I swear that woman has the worst timing."

"Well go out there already before she comes back here." She whispered frantically trying to find her tank top.

Jax walked around to the front of the bed and picked up her tank top and handed it to her before turning to walk to the door.

"Jax tell Christine to come out here too." Gemma said calling down the hallway again.

Jax headed down the hallway and Christine put on her socks and boots and then walked over to the mirror over his dresser. Her hair was a mess and she couldn't find her hair tie but that wasn't the worst part. There was a hickie coming up on her neck. Shit! She thought. I'm here for three days and I'm already gonna be deemed the slut! How did I let myself get into this situation? Combing her fingers through her hair and making sure that it was covering that side of her neck she walked down the hallway looking for Gemma and Jax. Finding them in the kitchen she hung back near the door. But when Gemma saw her she seemed like nothing was weird.

"Christine come over here."

Uh oh Christine thought. I'm totally about to get cussed out by his mother. Christine walked over to the counter where Gemma was standing without looking at Jax. She hadn't looked at him since she got in here. Gemma was holding out something on a cracker.

"Taste this."

"Um Gemma? Do you remember the water bottle thing?" Christine asked making an embarrassed face.

"Oh that's right. Well Jax come here and taste this. When I was out shopping I got you some groceries but I figure I might use this at the BBQ tonight. So what do you think?"

Jax put what was on the spoon in his mouth. He didn't chew it up or swallow.

With his mouth full he said "Mum du I havv tuh swullow this?"

Christine put her hand over her mouth to hold back the laugh which didn't work. Jax walked over and spit what was in his mouth in the trash can.

"Mom what the hell was that?"

"Well it said potato salad." She said glaring at him.

"You can't buy potato salad from the grocery store. That stuff is always nasty," Christine offered. "I can give you my grandma's recipe if you want."

"Do you know it off the top of your head?" she asked looking around for a piece of paper and a pen.

"No but I can run over there to the house and get it."

Christine walked out of the kitchen and grabbed her coat and her bag off the back of Jax's couch and then made her way across the road to her house. She unlocked the door and went straight to her room. She went over to the cubby under the window seat and pulled out her grandma's recipe book. It had hand painted flowers on the outside and it was stuffed with recipes. Grandpa had always told her how her grandma loved to cook. Christine was too young to actually remember her but her memories had lived on through grandpa. Christine sat it on her bed before going in the bathroom to look at her neck. Full blown hickey. She was gonna kick his ass when she got him alone. She reached into her makeup bag and pulled out her concealer quickly trying to cover up the spot. With her hair down you couldn't see it but you would be able to if it were up. Rolling her eyes she went back into her room and flipped through the recipe book until she found the one for potato salad. She copied it on a piece of paper. She left all her stuff at her house and left the door unlocked when she went back so that she would have and excuse to come straight back home. Walking back across the road she made sure her hair was pulled down over her neck and walked back up to the door to knock. Jax came over to the door and stepped outside instead of asking her to come in.

"Sorry. She usually doesn't stop by like that. I wasn't planning on that happening either; what happened before she came I mean. I meant what I said earlier. I wasn't trying to get you in bed."

"Gives this to your mom okay? I gotta get back home because I have some stuff to do." She handed the paper over and took off down his sidewalk to the driveway.

Jax reached out and grabbed her upper arm to stop her. She whirled around and slapped him across the face. "Don't grab me!" she yelled pointing her finger in his face before storming to her own house. Christine hadn't really been mad at all at him until he had grabbed her. Why couldn't he just get it through his head not to grab her like that? He might as well have been putting his hands around her neck and choking her. She locked her front door behind her and went and lay on her bed. Her phone was beeping to tell her that she had a low battery. She dug through her bag to find it and plug it up. When looking at it though she had three missed calls. One was one of those weird telemarketer numbers, another was from her dad, and the third was from the farm hand Jimmy who was supposed to be taking care of the animals back home. She also had a voicemail from her dad.

_Christine I'm just calling to check in. We'll be home tomorrow evening so make sure you there isn't any mess. _

Hitting the delete button she rolled her eyes and scoffed. She figured she should probably call Jimmy back and see what he wanted but figured it could wait. She rolled over on her side laying her head on her pillow curling her body into a ball and thought about today. Ugh! So embarrassing she thought putting her pillow over her head.

Christine was wandering aimlessly around a house. She was looking for something. She didn't know what it was but her panic was increasing with every step. She was crying and getting all worked up. The hallway she was running down in the house seemed to go on forever. Out of nowhere a hand reached out and grabbed her. When she turned to look there he was. Standing there looking at her with those blank eyes. He punched her in the side of her face and then pushed her and she was falling down the set of stairs that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Christine jolted awake sitting up in her bed. She was shaking, her heart was racing, and she was breaking out in a cold sweat. Laying back down on her back and staring at the ceiling she replayed her dream in her head. Reaching over to grab her cell phone to check the time she saw she had a new text message. It was from Jax.

Ma wants to know if you want to come over for the BBQ tonight. She'll be mad if you don't. Dinners at 8 so let me know so I can come by and show you the way. –Jax

Firstly, she thought, when did he put his number in my phone? Secondly it's already seven thirty. If I'm going to go I need to let him know right now. She looked around her dark empty room and thought about how empty her house was. How alone she was. Then her dream flitted through her mind. She did not want to be here alone right now. Christine texted him back and told him she would come. It wasn't long before he texted her back.

It's a pool party. Wear a bathing suit unless you like being thrown in in all your clothes.

"What?" she said out loud.

Why would he throw me in the water with all my clothes on? She texted him back to ask him. He immediately texted her back.

Didn't mean me. The guys act like big kids. Meet you out front in ten.

Christine feeling more nervous now than she did before walked over to her dresser and pulled out her two piece black bikini. It had been awhile since she had even worn a bathing suit. She pulled it on and looked at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. Lifting her hair off her neck she turned to look at her scar. Well, she thought, I might not even take off my t-shirt. Then no one will ask questions she thought. Looking at her complexion she decided on brushing her teeth and washing her face and being done with it. She went into her room and pulled out a pair of cut of jean shorts that were frayed at the ends and pulled on her black Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt and her leather jacket. Then walked over to her closet and got her cowboy boots out of the floor in the bottom. Christine heard his motorcycle out front so she grabbed her bag, phone, and keys and headed for the door while putting her aviators on. After locking it she headed towards her car.

"Why don't you just ride with me?" he called over the rumbling of his bike. "Then I won't have to slow down so you can keep up," he said smiling.

She walked over towards him and was putting all her things inside her bag when he cut off the engine.

"Here I found this in my bed." He said handing over her hair tie.

She let out a wry laugh, "Yeah, like I'll need that."

He made a confused face and she sighed lifting her hair up off her neck to reveal the big hickey.

"Oh," he said looking like the cat that ate the canary. "Sorry."

"Yeah you should see it without makeup. It looks like someone shot me in the neck with a paintball gun."

Jax handed her the helmet and she put it on and then climbed on. Cranking his bike back up he pulled out of the driveway and Christine hung on tight sliding her hands to her usual place. Instead of watching where they were going she laid her head against his back and closed her eyes. Thoughts about earlier came to her mind and she was glad he couldn't see her face turning red. Then she thought about how she had slapped him. He hadn't even said anything about it. He also didn't act like it had upset him. After what seemed like forever they came to a stop.

"We're here. You can loosen your grip now. Is it really that bad riding with me?

"No it wasn't bad at all," she said.

"You're such a liar," he said with a big goofy smile on his face. "I didn't even go fast this time."

"Well it's not the going fast that bothers me. It's the flying off and meeting the pavement."

They climbed off of the bike and walked up the walkway from the driveway to the house with Jax leading the way. Gemma's house was really nice. When they got inside Christine saw that there was a full house. All the guys from the club which she had seen that first day and girls who looked like strippers were scattered everywhere talking and laughing. She tagged along behind Jax so that she wouldn't be standing awkwardly alone. They were making their way towards the back door when Gemma called her over to the kitchen with all the other girls. She looked at Jax and he shrugged.

"I'll be right outside with the guys," and then he walked through the sliding glass doors leaving her alone with his mother and a ton of people she didn't know.


	8. Used to it

Christine hung her coat and her bag on the back of one of the chairs at the long table in the dining room connected to the kitchen. Walking back over to where Gemma was she passed a lot of other girls just standing around. Some were just in bathing suit tops and shorts walking around. Others had on all their clothes. But the one thing she noticed was big boobs and asses. Gemma asked Christine and a few of the other girls to help with the food. After making potato salad from her grandma's recipe, Gemma had said that nobody else but her should make it, Gemma asked her to take a tray of steaks outside to Clay. She figured there were at least thirty steaks and they were heavy. Making her way outside she was trying to avoid all the people. People were jumping in the pool and guys were horsing around. There were people making out and people just sitting around shooting the breeze. She spotted Clay talking to the guy with the oxygen tank over by the grill so she navigated her way over to them. She handed over the tray when he went to take it. The man with the oxygen mask looked her up and down and then stuck out his hand.

"Piney," he said.

"Christine," she said. "Nice to meet you."

"Same. You aren't here with Luanne are you?"

"Who?" she asked

"Gemma's friend. Most of the girls here came with her."

"Well I came with Jax, but Gemma invited me."

At this Clay turned around from what he was doing to look at her. He gave her the once over and then went back to what he was doing. Christine took this as her cue to leave. Walking back around the pool she was looking for Jax but caught something moving towards her out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see what it was only a split second before the two guys, the size of NFL linebackers, wrestling knocked in to her sending her flying into the pool. She went all the way down hitting her hip hard on the concrete bottom. Pushing herself back up to the surface she pushed her hair out of her face. The two guys were standing on the side asking if she was okay and most of the other people were just staring. She made her way over to the side and pulled herself up and turning around to sit on the edge. She pulled off both of her boots and dumped the water out of them. Everyone had started to go back to what they were doing and she finally got the two guys waved off who were repeatedly asking if she was okay. Some people just got extremely annoying when they were drinking. Trying to wring the water out of her clothes proved to be too hard a task without taking them off. She stood up and winced at the pain shooting through her hip. Christine picked up her boots and walked over to a picnic table in the right far corner of the yard. With every step she was limping and wincing. As soon as she got there she sat her boots down and took off her shirt and shorts laying them on top of the table to dry. She looked down at her hip and there was already a bruise the size of a grape fruit coming up. It was blue and black and hurt every time she moved. It had been awhile since she'd had a bruise this bad. It was in need of some serious ice to keep the swelling down though. Taking her hair tie that Jax had returned and putting her hair in a ponytail she stood up and limped back towards the house, avoiding the pool, she made her way inside. There were a few whispers that she heard. Some people had seen her scar. At the moment though she didn't even care. Walking into the kitchen she saw Gemma talking to a shorter blonde woman. Trying to be as least rude as possible she walked up and tapped Gemma. She turned around to see who was bothering her mid conversation. The look of pain on Christine's face must have snubbed out her annoyance.

"Honey what's wrong?" she asked looking concerned.

"I need some ice." She said pulling her hand from covering her side so that Gemma would understand.

"What the hell happened?" she asked grabbing a rag off the counter and going to get ice out of the freezer.

"Two guys knocked into me sending me flying into the pool. It's really not that bad."

"Are you kidding me? That looks horrible!"

Christine let out a wry laugh "Trust me. I've had worse."

Gemma brought the ice over and handed it to her. Christine immediately put it on her side gasping at the instant pain and then the soothing numbness. Gemma said something to the other woman standing there and then came back over to Christine.

"Come on back here with me," she said before walking through the dining room and into the hallway.

Christine followed behind her slowly. They went into one of the three bedrooms at the end of the hall where Gemma started digging through a drawer where she pulled out a pill bottle before putting it back.

"Go ahead and sit down over there on the bed."

Christine went and sat on the bed holding the ice on her side with one hand and leaning on her other elbow. Gemma walked into her bathroom coming back with one of those paper cups you used to swish after brushing your teeth. Gemma held out the cup and a bottle of Tylenol. Christine sat up and grabbed it not even caring that Gemma had poured her the water. Christine pulled out a Tylenol and threw it in her mouth and chased it with the little bit of water.

"Let me grab you some clothes." Gemma said before disappearing into her closet. When she came back she was carrying a pair of black track pants and a button up white shirt.

"This way nothing won't really be rubbing it. Do you need any help or are you good?"

"I'm good. Thanks for this."

Gemma left shutting the door and Christine pulled the track pants and the shirt on over her bathing suit. Her hip was numb now so she figured she didn't need the ice anymore. Christine walked back out into the living room making her way through the dining room to the kitchen. She grabbed her bag and her jacket off the chair before she kept going. Jax was standing there leaning up against the counter drinking out of a beer bottle. He was talking to a group of people so she snuck on by him to go get her clothes and boots. The less questions she had to answer the better. After maneuvering her way around everyone and grabbing her stuff she headed towards a seating area next to the sliding glass doors and sat down. It wasn't long before someone stuck their head out of the door and told everyone to come eat. All the people in the back yard started making their way inside. After everyone got inside Christine pulled her legs up underneath her and stared up at the sky. The stars were beautiful. There weren't many since they were close to the city but it was beautiful all the same. Christine could hear everyone inside eating and talking but it shocked her when Gemma came outside. She walked around and sat on the other side of Christine lighting a cigarette.

Looking straight at Christine Gemma asked "So Christine, What happened to you?"


	9. Secrets

"I got pushed into the pool" Christine said without taking her eyes of the stars.

"I don't mean tonight. I mean back before you moved here." Gemma said in her all-knowing voice.

Christine hadn't told anyone about all the other stuff that had happened before that night four months ago. When you feel like you can't trust anybody you tend to not tell them your business. She could tell that Gemma wasn't that way though. Gemma was tough, she handled her business, and nobody hurt the people she loved. But she wasn't judgmental. Maybe that's why Christine started talking. Without looking at Gemma, because there was no way she would get through it if she did, she started talking.

"About a year and a half ago I met a guy named Chris. Tall, dark, and handsome. He had the whole bad boy thing down to a T. I was wary at first because I didn't want to get hurt and I thought he was player. But he showed me another side of him. He was sweet and misunderstood. His dad got shipped off to prison a few months before Chris and I got together. His dad had hit him. During that same time my grandpa got diagnosed with cancer. I'd lived with grandpa my whole life. He raised me from the time I was two and I was all he had. So I took care of him. What happened to grandpa really had me messed up. It's hard to watch one of the strongest people you've ever known be so weak. Chris and I were hanging out one day and I jokingly said something to him. I think I called him an idiot or something. He reached out and slapped me across the face. When I looked at him his face was cold and distant. He told me not to talk to him that way because nobody talked to him like that. After ten minutes though he was his normal self again. Like it had never even happened. For some reason I stayed. It happened more and more after that. He hit me all the time. I don't even remember most of them because there were so many. I remember the serious ones though. When he busted my head open because he shoved me into the corner of a door jamb. When he cracked three of my ribs because he punched me so hard. When he broke my wrist because he shoved me backwards out of his car. When he pushed me into a mirror and it shattered. Glass went everywhere but one piece cut me badly. I had to have over eighty stitches for that one. They said they lost count once they got to eighty. That's where the big scar on my back came from. It was also the first time I had ever passed out. Lost a lot of blood that day. I woke up in the hospital and he was playing the perfect boyfriend role. Dealing with grandpa and with Chris I just turned to drugs to cope. Long sleeves and jeans were my constant go to. Nobody could see the bruises that way. My body was over ninety three percent bruises. I think that's what the doctor said in the police report. Grandpa was going through chemo during all this. His health really started getting worse. The doctors told us that the chemo hadn't worked and there was nothing else we could do. He died five months ago ya know. I felt lost without him and I really lost it. I stayed so high I couldn't even remember what day of the week it was. Chris started hitting me more and more but I was so numb I didn't even care anymore. I had given up. He got tired of me being so out of it and broke up with me about two weeks after grandpa died. One of my friends sat me down and told me I had to stop or I was going to die and that grandpa wouldn't have wanted me to act that way. So I quit everything but drinking. I ran into Chris two weeks and three days after we broke up though. We were at a mutual friend's party. Chris kept saying how he missed me and how he never should have ended it. I told him I didn't want to get back together and he didn't really like that answer. I had had one beer. Just one beer. I finished it and went to get another one but Chris was standing there and he handed me one. It looked like he got it out of the cooler so I didn't think anything about it. You'd think that I would have been curious why he opened it. I took a few drinks of it and it wasn't long before everything got so blurry that I couldn't really see. I felt hot and like I was going to be sick so I made my way outside to get some fresh air. Chris came up behind me and grabbed me around the waist. I tried to tell him to get off but it was like he didn't even hear me. It felt like someone had put me under water. Things sounded muddled and far away. He pulled me over to his car and put me in the backseat. I kept trying to fight him. It wasn't much use. He held me down and ripped off my clothes… and then he raped me. I told him no over and over again and he wouldn't listen and I remember him hitting me to get me to shut up. The blow to my brow bone did me in though. My nose was bleeding. My right eye was swelling shut. I just stared into his eyes because that was the only thing I could do, just pleading for him to stop but his eyes were blank and empty. Like no one was even there. I passed out after that and when I woke up I was laying in the backseat of my own car. My head was pounding and I felt horrible but I drove straight to the police station. They took my statement and took me to the hospital to get checked out. The whole time they looked down their nose at me like I was a piece of garbage that they didn't want to deal with. The nurse checked me out and told them that I had been raped. They took pictures of all the fading bruises and the new ones from the night before. I got fifteen stitches up here near my eyebrow," she said pointing towards her eyebrow. "They brought him in for questioning and then… they let him go. They said there wasn't enough evidence." She let out a wry angry laugh. Continuing her voice cold and angry "I guess he would have had to have done it right there on their desk for it to have happened in their eyes. He told everybody that I was a liar after that and that I was saying it happened because I was so upset he had broken up with me. No one believed me. Everybody I knew turned their back on me. People who were supposed to be my friends. No one wanted to be around someone who lied like that. They figured they might be my next victim. Some of dad's old friends must have called him because it wasn't long before he came up from Florida and told me I should move out here with him and get a new start and here I am." She didn't know how long silent tears had been coming but her face was soaked and so was the shirt she was wearing.

Christine couldn't look at Gemma. She was afraid of what she would see. But then she felt Gemma grab her hand and just hold it.

"People are fucking idiots. Don't let it beat you down. You'll rise above this." Gemma said matter-of-factly.

Christine wiped the tears off her face and then turned to look at Gemma. All she saw was kindness in the woman's eyes. Then she saw Gemma's eyes look over towards the door.

"Jax what are you doing out here?"

"I came to find Christine because one of those jackasses in there told me she got hurt earlier."

Christine didn't want to turn around and look at him but taking a deep steadying breath she made herself anyways. She looked up to meet his eyes and knew that he had heard the whole thing. She saw a lot of emotions going across his face. Anger, understanding, compassion, and sadness all so fast that you weren't really sure you had seen them at all. Gemma stood up and helped Christine up.

"Come on lets go get something to eat I'm starving," she said putting her arm around Christine's shoulder and pulling her around Jax and into the house.

She went inside with Gemma not looking back to see if he followed. She didn't eat but she hung around and talked to a few people. Her hip was really starting to hurt though and she just wanted to go home. She went looking for Jax. Looking around inside she couldn't find him and he wasn't out front either. She walked back to the back yard to check. She had to get her stuff anyways. But he was out there lying on the picnic table her clothes had been drying on earlier staring up at the sky. No one else was out there but him and it was extremely quiet. The noise of the party seeming miles away. Feeling nervous she grabbed her stuff and walked over to him.

"Jax," she whispered.

Without looking at her Jax reached out and grabbed her hand gently and started rubbing his finger over her palm. He didn't speak.

"Jax," she tried again. "My sides really starting to hurt. Do you think we can go now?"

He still wouldn't meet her eye but he got up. "Okay."

Jax intertwined his fingers with Christine's and led her towards the back door. They walked inside and started walking through the throngs of people. All the girls were noticeably whispering with one another and staring at Jax's hand. He must not usually do this she thought. Christine didn't stare at the floor though she just wanted to get home. Jax lead her over to where Gemma was sitting on Clay's lap surrounded by a ton of other people.

"Mom we're gonna take off. Clay I'll get with you tomorrow about what we talked about." He said.

"Alright baby. You two be safe. Make sure to take the boys with you and Christine come by the office tomorrow and see me," Gemma said.

"Yes ma'am."

Laughing Gemma said "Don't call me ma'am you make me sound old."

Opie stood up to come with them along with the Irish guy with the two big scars on his face. The four of them walked outside to head back across town. Christine slid her jacket on and put her boots on her feet. She looked like a fashion disaster. Tucking her shorts and shirt that had gotten wet inside of her bag she put it over her head and around her body. Jax handed her the helmet and she climbed on the back. He still wouldn't look her in the eye. It was really starting to freak her out. He must be disgusted if he can't even look at me she thought. Christine didn't care if she fell off of his bike she refused to put her hands where she felt safe. Wrapping her arms around his waist and locking one of her hands around her other wrist she just held on. Jax didn't go fast at all which Christine was thankful for. Her hip felt like she'd been shot and with every little jar of the motorcycle it was sending shots of pain up her side. When they got to their street he didn't pull into her house he pulled into his own driveway and killed the engine. Opie and the other guy pulled up behind them and cut off their bikes. Christine climbed off and took off the helmet handing it to him. She took a few steps toward her house but Jax called her back.

"Hey. Here," he said handing over his keys. "Go inside and wait for me."

Then he turned around and started talking to the two guys. He still hadn't looked her in the eye but his house was a lot less far away than her own. Trying not to limp because she didn't want to look weak she made her way to his door and unlocked it. It was completely dark other than the light in the bathroom at the end of the hallway next to his bedroom. She walked in there and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked blood shot from being so tired and her hair was falling out of her hair tie. She sat her bag down on the floor and pulled off her jacket reaching up to put her hair into a messy bun. Then she reached into her bag and got her toothbrush and toothpaste she carried around and brushed her teeth. Jax still hadn't come in when she got done so she walked into his bedroom sitting her stuff down next to his dresser next to the door. She pulled off her boots and sat them next to her other stuff and then walked over to his mirror on the dresser laying his keys on the top. She could see from mid-thigh up now. Pulling the waist band of the track pants down she assessed her bruise. It was pretty bad. It looked like one of the really bad ones Chris had given her but she knew that it would heal. Walking around his bed she sat down and tried to get comfortable. No such luck sitting up so she lay down which felt much better. She rolled the waistband on her pants down so that they weren't touching her side at all. Then threw her arm up over her eyes to shield them from the light.

"Son of a bitch!" Jax said jerking her awake.

Christine looked up at his face with one of her eyes shut barely able to keep the other one open. The light was seriously bright. Jax's eyes went from looking at her hip to her face. He was finally looking at her at least if only for a quick second. "What?" she grumbled.

"Do you need ice?" he asked walking over to sit down on the bed to look at it.

"No your mom gave me some earlier. Hey! Don't touch it." She said laughing.

"How exactly did you get hurt anyways?" he asked looking as though he was getting madder and madder every second.

She pretended to think about it putting her hand under her chin "You know, I don't remember." He glared at her. "Okay okay, sheesh don't get your panties in a wad. I took a tray of steaks outside for your mom and when I was walking back around the pool these two huge guys were wrestling and knocked in to me. I went flying into the pool, hit my hip on the bottom, and the rest is history."

Jax seemed to be thinking this over. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

"What are you over there thinking so hard about?"

"Just trying to figure out who did it so I can beat their ass. Bunch of dumbasses always playing around acting like ten year olds. They're grown fucking me."

"Honestly its fine. They didn't mean to do it and they already apologized… about eight hundred times. There is something I want to know though," she said trying to push herself up a little bit on the pillows behind her. After a long pause she asked quietly "Why won't you look me in the eye? I know you heard what I told your mom. I saw your face. So why won't you look at me? Are you disgusted or something?"

Jax looked up at her and directly in to her eyes. "Disgusted? Why would…?" His words trailed off and he walked over to his dresser and pulled out some papers that had been bent in the middle. He handed them to her before sitting back down. Christine unfolded them and started reading. It was a police report. A police report with her name on it. There wasn't any information on the front page other than 'inconclusive evidence', her information, and the dates when she had come in. But when she turned to the next page she instantly recognized the pictures. There she was standing in front of the concrete wall at the hospital with and elastic bandage around her boobs so that they could get all of her previous bruises in the shot. She found her eyes. The one was swollen and above it were stitches. But my gosh she thought there were so many bruises.

"Why do you have this?" she asked trying not to cry. Jax didn't answer her quick enough. "I said why the fuck do you have this?"She screamed turning to glare at him.

Hot tears started to roll down her face.

"It was just a standard background check. I had Juice look you up on the computer and…"

"Somebody else saw these?" she asked looking panicked.

"No he just got me through the passcode wall. He's real good with computers. I'm the only person who's seen it. The thing is though that that's why it got to me so bad tonight when I heard you telling mom about... well anyways I kept looking at these trying to figure out what had happened. I really wanted to believe it was something else. I don't understand how somebody could do that to a woman. How he could have done that to you. I kept coming up with scenarios in my head to make myself feel better I guess. Now that I know what really happened I don't see how I could have ever thought it was anything else." Jax sighed and put his head in his hands and then wiped his hands down over placing them in praying position in front of his mouth with his elbows on his knees turning his face to look at her.

Christine looked deep into his eyes and saw compassion and kindness. He stared right back at her.

"I'm really embarrassed that you've seen this. You can't tell anybody what I told your mom either. I don't want that to follow me here. Will you do me a favor though?" she asked him rolling over on her side to face him better. Making sure nothing was touching her other hip.

"Yeah what do you need?"

"Lean over here."


	10. Bad News

Hey everybody, So sorry it took me so long to get this up. The first two weeks of school have proven to be hectic like I expected. I wanted to say thankyou for the nice things you've all been saying. I hope I did the last chapter justice. It was a very hard one to put down in words. As for the Gemma and Christine relationship this chapter is really going to start to show their friendship growing. As it will in the next chapter. Which I've already started by the way. I don't want to make you guys wait that long. It always irks me to have to wait to read something. On a last note Jax and Christine's relationship is kind of blooming really, which I really finally noticed, fast but I think it fits their personalities. I don't think that Jax is the type of guy to court a girl for six months before even kissing her. I think he would be the kind of guy to act on impulses and go for what he wants. I think that covers everything so thanks for reading! God Bless and enjoy.

* * *

><p>Jax eyed her suspiciously and then leaned down. Christine reached up and pulled off his ball cap. Reaching up slowly to put her fingers through his hair she pulled his mouth down to her own and kissed him. Pulling away from him a few seconds later she smiled up at him. He took a breath to steady himself and then stood walking out the door to the hallway and towards the kitchen without a word. Christine lay back on the pillows putting all the thoughts of tonight's awkwardness out of her head only to be replaced with those girly crush feelings you see in the movies. Jax was different than any guy she had ever met. He wasn't about head games. He was honest and to the point. But she could also tell that there was a part of him she hadn't even been introduced to yet. Something that was a big part of him. She had never felt this way about Chris and she had thought she loved him.<p>

"You're gonna stay the night right?" he asked shaking her out of her thoughts and coming back with a blue plastic cup. Jax had walked back in and she hadn't even noticed.

"Unless you feel like kicking me out I guess I will."

Jax just nodded in response. After sitting his cup on his bedside table he sat down on the edge of the bed to take off his sneakers. Christine just watched as his back muscles flexed underneath his white t-shirt. Finally she went to make herself look away before he caught her looking but she caught his eye in the mirror in front of him. Feeling herself flush with embarrassment she turned her face towards the ceiling and put her arm over her eyes.

"Do you need some clothes to sleep in or something?" he asked.

"Yeah that would be good but I can always walk over to the house and get something." she mumbled sitting up and wincing.

"You can wear something of mine or I can run to your house and get whatever you need."

In a fake southern belle accent she jokingly said "Why Jackson Teller, what ever would I do if you looked in my pantie drawer?" and then laughed a big belly laugh "Really though I can wear something of yours. I'll have to go camo underneath though because there is no way I'm sleeping in this itchy bathing suit."

Christine stood up putting her hand on her hip until the shooting pain went away. Walking around the bed she started unbuttoning the dress shirt Gemma had given her to wear. Jax was just standing there with one eyebrow raised when she finished undoing the last button and looked up.

"What? I have a bathing suit top on under this."

"It's not that. I was just wondering why you act so comfortable around me."

Reaching up to pull her shirt together in the front and holding it there with her arms crossed so that nothing was showing she asked "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"

She saw a few emotions flicker across his face but they were too fast for her to catch them but she held his gaze refusing to look away from him.

"People get hurt around me."

Jax wasn't laughing and his tone told her that he wasn't joking. He kept his eyes locked on hers trying to get her to understand the intensity of his words. Even though she had gone through what she went through with Chris she wasn't scared. She knew that wasn't what he meant when he said that people got hurt.

"I'm not scared" she whispered putting her arms down.

"You should be."

Ha! She thought. Christine pulled off the shirt and folded it up laying it on the top of her bag. She looked up to find him staring again.

"Clothes?" she asked looking at him like she would look at a confused two year old.

He turned around to look in his drawers. Christine bent down to grab her cell phone to make sure no one had called. Sure enough she had another missed call from Jimmy. He hadn't left a message though. Something must be wrong for him to call me twice she thought. Looking at the time on her phone she saw that it was two in the morning. She couldn't believe time had flown so fast. Christine wasn't going to be rude and call Jimmy at this hour of the night him and his wife would be in the bed and they had kids. She decided that she would call him tomorrow and see what was going on. Looking to see if she had any texts she was suddenly aware that she was being stared at. Looking over her shoulder she saw Jax staring at her scar. Being here and around him she had forgotten all about it.

"Do you mind if I take a shower and get this chlorine out of my hair?" she asked turning back around to put her phone in her bag.

"Yeah go ahead. Bathroom's right there. Should be a towel in there."

Not turning around to look at him she walked into his bathroom and closed and locked the door. Looking at herself in the mirror she took down her hair seeing that it had dried into a knotty mess. Taking off her clothes she climbed into his shower. While she was shampooing her hair she couldn't stop obsessing over the fact that she had only known Jax for around five days and she was standing here taking a shower in his house. It felt weird. Especially since she had started to trust him. There were about a handful of people she trusted and Jax and his mother were two of them. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. These people she had just met. She had known her father her whole life. Of course he hadn't been around but she trusted them more than him. Christine turned the water off and stepped out onto the rug in front of the shower grabbing the towel that was on the rack there; wiping the water off her face and then running it through her hair. After she finished drying off her body she looked around for her clothes. Swearing under her breath at her own stupidity she realized that she had left them in the bedroom. Wrapping the towel around herself she opened the bathroom door to go get them but after she swung the door open a flash of white on the floor caught her eye. Jax had sat the clothes there for her. Picking them up and trying not to grin, because the lights were now off in the bedroom and he could most definitely see her but she couldn't see him, she walked back into the bathroom and closed the door. Sitting the clothes down on the counter top she picked them up to examine them; a white t-shirt and a pair of white boxers. Grinning like an idiot at the thought of Jax in these same boxers made her laugh. She pulled them on and they were bigger but not so much that they didn't fit. It was weird not having a bra or panties on though. It made her feel naked. She ran her fingers through her almost dry hair and looked at herself. Pulling up the t-shirt to look at her hip. It was almost sickening to look at a bruise on her skin again. The hot shower had helped with the pain though. It really was just sort of stinging now, although it still shot pain up her side when she walked. Christine put the towel she had used back up on the rack then picked up her bathing suit and Gemma's track pants making her way towards the door. Once she got the door open she turned off the light and made her way into Jax's room. After bending down and putting her bathing suit in her bag she folded Gemma's track pants and put them inside too. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and when she looked over at Jax his eyes were closed. Trying to be as quiet as she could and not trip over anything she walked around the bed and gently sat down. Bringing her legs up on the bed she lay back and then turned on her side facing Jax. It felt awkward but she couldn't lay on the other one because of her hip. Closing her eyes she relaxed into the pillow.

Christine woke up and felt disoriented. Someone's arms were around her and where was she? Becoming more awake she realized where she was and relaxed. Her mouth was extremely dry. Picking Jax's arm up and laying it on the bed beside her she slid to the edge of the bed and stood up. Navigating down a dark hallway that she was unfamiliar with was tricky but she made it to the kitchen. Without turning on any lights she walked over to the fridge and opened it bending over to see if she could find something to drink. There was a lot of stuff in his fridge. Including the bottle of water she pulled out. An arm came out and wrapped around her waist. In surprise Christine shrieked and then spun around. Jax looking half asleep stared back at her. All he had on was a pair of black boxers. Her body relaxed and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Sorry," he mumbled in his sleepy voice.

"I would say you're gonna have to stop doing that but this one's my fault. I got thirsty," she said leaning back to show him the bottle of water still in her hand. "Hope you don't mind."

"No get anything you want."

Christine stepped back from him and opened the water. Taking a big gulp. Then she turned it up took another big gulp and put the lid on it. Walking back over with the bottle tucked under her arm she grabbed Jax's hand and led him back to his room. They climbed back into bed and Christine snuggled in close with her head lying in the crook of his arm. Her left leg was thrown over his left leg and her arm was lying on his chest. His finger was running up and down the scar on her back.

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" he whispered into her hair.

"No. I'm gonna go get checked out and get a note for school. There's no way I'm walking around over there all day tomorrow with this pain shooting up my side. Besides I've got a lot of stuff to do before Dad and Ashley get back."

Jax's gentle rubbing up and down her back put her back to sleep.

When Christine woke up the next time sun was streaming in through the window and she was in bed alone. Sitting up and stretching she let out a big yawn. Getting up out of the bed she walked around to the dresser that had a note laying on it.

_Had to go meet with Clay and handle some things. I'll see you later. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry._

Christine decided to skip eating at his house. She really just wanted to get home and get started on everything that needed to be done. Grabbing all her stuff she walked out his front door locking it behind her. Trying to be as conspicuous as possible she made her way down his driveway and over to her own house. Hoping that no one would see her in Jax's clothes without a bra on. Pulling her keys out of her bag as she made her way up to the door she opened it and walked inside. Everything was clean just like when her dad and Ashley had left. There was laundry of hers to do though. She still had to get everybody's clothes back to them. Going into her room she pulled off Jax's clothes that she had on and added them to the clothes Gemma had let her borrow on both occasions along with all her dirty clothes. She separated them and went to put a load in the washer. Once they were started she went to find a phone book. Looking up the number of the local doctor's office she called to see if they could get her in today. They had an appointment for eleven and it was already nine. Christine got in the shower and then got ready. Pulling on a pair of flared blue jeans and a white tank top she dried her hair and then put some loose curls in it. Putting on eyeliner, mascara, and some lip gloss she was ready to go by ten thirty. Running into the laundry room she put the clothes that could go in the dryer in there and hung up the clothes that couldn't. She hung up all of Jax's and Gemma's clothes not wanting to shrink them if they didn't usually dry them. Going into the kitchen on her way back to her room she grabbed a bottle of apple juice and two granola bars. Once in her room she pulled on her leather jacket and her high heel black boots and grabbed her bag with all her stuff and headed out the door locking it behind her.

It wasn't hard for her to find the doctor's office. Charming was actually a small town. One of the towns where everybody seemed to know everybody else. Kind of like back home. Sitting in the waiting room waiting to be called back she ate her breakfast and finished off her apple juice. Finally a nurse called her back into one of the examination rooms. When her doctor Mr. Avery, an older man with thick glasses and salt and pepper hair, walked in smiling a friendly smile at her.

Extending his hand to her he introduced himself "Hi, I'm Doctor Avery. What seems to be the problem today Miss Lancer?"

"I fell into a pool and hit my hip pretty hard," she said lifting up her shirt to show him.

"Lay back here on the table."

Christine did what he said and then tried to keep from crying when the doctor started pressing on her side to inspect it. She couldn't help it though she was silently crying. It really hurt when he poked on it like that.

"Well, nothing seems to be broken. We're gonna do an x-ray just in case though. Rather be safe than sorry. It is a pretty serious bruise though that will go away in time. I can see that it's hurting though so I'll write you a prescription for something to help with the pain. Gladice your nurse will come get you in a minute and take you down the hall to get that x-ray and then I'll come back, okay?" he said with a kind smile.

"Alright, thank you doctor."

The doctor was right. It hadn't been broken and all it was was a bruise. He had written her a prescription of weaker vicodin. Not that she would take them if she even did decide to get it filled. Walking out of the doctor's office after paying she hopped in her car and headed out to find a burger joint. She was starving and the granola bars hadn't done the job. Pulling into the parking lot she thought about how she was supposed to go see Gemma. Pulling her cellphone out of her bag in the passenger seat she texted Jax.

_Hey what's your mom's number?_

It took him a few minutes to text back.

_555-8427 why?_

Boys are so nosey she thought smiling.

_Was going by to see her and I'm getting something to eat at the Burger Shack on the way over there. If you're there too do you want something?_

Christine texted Gemma while waiting for him to text her back.

_Hey Gemma, this is Christine. On my way over there. Stopping at Burger Shack. You hungry?_

Christine got Jax's text first.

_Yeah. So are they guys. There are eight of us. If you got the money to get us all something I'll pay you back when you get here._

Christine almost laughed at how she knew the people inside were going to react to that order.

_Burgers, Fries, and soda good for everybody?_

It took him a few seconds to reply back.

_Sounds good._

Christine got Gemma's text while getting out of the car. She decided against locking her doors because she didn't have anybody to help her carry the food back.

_Get me a salad and lemonade please. I'll pay you back._

Christine opened the door to the Burger Shack and walked up to the counter. Nobody else was inside except an older couple eating in one of the booths and the people who worked there. The girl working at the counter looked bored.

"What can I get you today?"

Looking up at the sign behind the girl Christine said "I need nine of your deluxe burgers, nine large French fries, nine Pepsi's, a salad, and large lemonade."

The girl at the counters eyes were huge. Obviously people who came in here didn't usually order this big. She quickly rung it up though and told Christine the total.

"That will be $59.40"

Christine pulled out her wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. The girl put it in the cash register and gave her back her change.

"Do you have a box I can sit all this in? So that it doesn't spill out in my car? Oh and if you could please wait and make the drinks after the food gets done. I have to drive across town and I don't want the ice to melt."

"How far across town are you going? In the heat the ice might not hold up too well."

"Over to Teller and Morrow Garage."

The girl looked Christine up and down. Christine raised her eyebrow in a warning. She was really getting tired of getting stared at that way.

"Don't worry. I'll get you a box ma'am and I'll make the drinks last. You can wait right over there. It should be done in about ten minutes."

Christine thanked her and went and sat down at a booth pulling out her book. It was Jane Eyre. She had read it multiple times before. So much so that the book was practically falling apart at the seams. She got through a few pages when the girl shyly walked over to tell her that her food was done. When she walked over there everything was packed up in the box. All the drinks were in drink coasters in the bottom. The food was in bags that were keeping the drinks from moving. They definitely weren't going to spill over.

"Thank you," Christine said picking up the box and walking out the door. She had to sit the box down in the parking lot on the ground to open the door and move the passenger seat back but the box fit in the floorboard. Shutting the passenger door she walked around to the other side of the car and got in. It didn't take but a few minutes to get over to the garage. Everything was in the box was still fine when she pulled the cutlass into a parking spot over near the garage. Cutting off the car she went around and slung her bag over her shoulder and then bent down to pick up the box. After closing the door with her foot she made her way over to Gemma's office. Thank goodness the door is always open she thought. Walking inside she sat the box down in a chair. Gemma was on the phone talking to someone but she smiled at Christine and lifted her hand in a wave. Christine dug out the salad and the lemonade and laid them on the desk. Christine pointed at the box and then over towards the club and Gemma nodded that she understood. Christine picked up the box and made her way across the parking lot towards the club. When she got to the door she leaned the box against the wall beside the door holding it up on one knee and with one arm while she pulled the door open with the other arm. Thankfully she didn't drop anything as she made her way inside. She walked behind the bar and sat down the box. There were empty beer bottles all over the bar and crumbs from something someone had been eating everywhere. No one was around but she could hear voices coming from the room where they guys had been her first night here. Christine sat her bag down next to the box and started picking up the beer bottles throwing them in the trash can. She was trying to be quiet so that she wouldn't disturb anybody. She grabbed the rag that was lying next to some bottles of liquor and wiped off the crumbs and then put the rag back. Walking over to her bag and pulled out her phone.

_I'm here._

She really didn't want someone to come in here and ask what she was doing.

_Where at? _

She replied back immediately.

_Standing at the bar inside the clubhouse with everybody's food._

She heard the voices in the room get a little louder and heard chairs moving. They HAD been in there. She felt kind of awkward but they all came out the door and walked over towards her. They were laughing and cutting up with each other. All of them were in their cuts which she figured must be the normal everyday thing. Christine started pulling out the food and handing each of them a burger, a fry, and a drink. Jax walked over to her and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself," she said handing him his food.

Christine pulled her food out last and sat it on the counter and then took the box off the bar and put it in the trash can. Christine was picking all her stuff up when the littler guy sitting on the bar stool near her spoke.

"Man this has mustard on it."

Clay cut him down with a look. "Shut your mouth prospect," he said while Tig slapped him in the back of the head.

Christine reached over and took his sandwich out of his hands and unwrapped her own sandwich and laid it on her wrapper. Everyone got quiet and she could tell they were looking. She took his top bun with the condiments on it off laying it aside while taking a napkin out of the bag and wiping the top of his sandwich off. Afterwards she put her bottom bun that didn't have anything on it back on the top of his sandwich and handed it back to him. He took it with wide eyes but smiled a small smile at her. Christine took his bun and put it back on her sandwich and took a bite at it. Finally looking around for the first time she saw that everyone was smiling and shaking their heads but they had continued to eat their food. Clay was just looking at her though like he was trying to figure her out. Christine started feeling awkward under his gaze.

"You know what," she said. "I was supposed to go back over there to meet Gemma. I'll see you guys later."

She wrapped her food back up. Throwing her bag back over her shoulder she picked it up and walked out the door towards the office. When she got there Gemma was eating her food but waved Christine over to the chair that was sitting directly on the other side of her desk.

"Sit right there honey," she said speaking past a bite of food.

Christine sat down with her food in her lap and ate. They didn't speak for a while but Christine was the first to speak.

"So there aren't as many people here today as the last time I was here."

"Yeah, there was another charter down here. There usually aren't that many people here. They came for the big Barbeque."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Gemma finally spoke.

"So you like my son huh?"

Christine almost choked on her hamburger. Taking a big drink of her soda she sucked it down.

"W-What?"

"Do you like Jax? He doesn't usually flaunt girls around like he did with you at the party the other night. So I figure he must like you."

"Um, I mean yeah. I do like him but…"

"Well I'm telling you this because I actually like you. You remind me a lot of myself," Gemma said with a smirk. "The relationship will never work out." Christine's face fell and looked shocked. "Unless… he tells you everything. That's the only way it ever works."

"What do you mean if he tells me..."

Christine stopped because she could see out the door that Jax was walking towards the office. He walked inside and walked over and kissed him mom on the cheek and then plopped down in a chair next to the door. Jax had an odd look on his face.

"What is it baby?" Gemma asked him.

"We gotta go take care of something."

Gemma must have understood because with a grave look she nodded. "Alright. You be careful. I love you." She stood up and walked around the desk towards the door. "I better go say bye to Clay." Then she was gone.

Neither Jax nor Christine said anything for a minute but Jax stood up and walked over to her pulling her up off her feet. He put both hands up on the side of her face looking into her eyes and then kissed her and then kissed her some more. When he pulled back she was breathless. She knew something wasn't right. Nobody kissed people like that unless they were about to die. Worry crept into her mind and she looked into his eyes. She saw her feelings reflected back at her. Whatever it was he was going to go do was bad.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Nothing," he said putting on a brave façade. "We just have to make a trip."

"Okay." She said not wanting to press the issue anymore. She could tell he didn't want to talk about it.

"We're fixing to leave though. I wanted to come say bye. Are you gonna be home later?"

"I should be." Being worried Christine thought the worst so she leaned up on her toes and kissed him. Kissed him like he had kissed her. Like she would never see him again. When she pulled away his arms were wrapped around her holding her close but she brought her lips up next to his ear and whispered "Be careful" and then pulled away from him. Jax cleared his throat and walked outside towards his bike where the other guys were waiting for him. Christine leaned against the door jamb with her arms crossed and watched him make his way across the parking lot. Gemma was kissing Clay and telling him bye. Christine didn't understand the feelings that were washing over her. She was scared of course, although she didn't know what was going on. But there was something else. She pushed it out of her thoughts as the guys cranked up their bikes and pulled off. Gemma walked back towards the office and Christine walked back over and sat down in the chair she was sitting in earlier. Gemma stood there for a minute looking flustered and then looked at Christine.

"Come on. I'm gonna close the shop early since nobody's here anyways."

"Okay," Christine said picking her bag up off the floor and throwing her trash into the trash can.

Gemma grabbed her bad and keys then followed behind Christine out the door before she locked it. Christine took off walking towards her car but Gemma stopped her.

"Just follow me okay?"

Christine was confused but she agreed. They both got into their cars. Gemma drove a black Cadillac Roadster. She followed her a few blocks away to a busier part of town and pulled into the empty parking place next to where Gemma had parked and was getting out of her car. They were in front of a nail salon. Christine had noticed that Gemma kept her nails done in a French manicure and they did look good. Grabbing her bag she got out of her car and followed Gemma locking the door.

"This always makes me feel better," she said leading the way. "Takes my mind off of things."

"I had my nails done for prom. That's about it."

Gemma looked incredulously at her and then dragged her into the building. There weren't any seats open but as soon as the Korean man caught them out of the corner of his eye he made a big bluster of comments in another language and the other people doing nails made two seats available right next to each other. Christine was kind of shocked. The two of them made their way over two the two high backed black chairs and sat down. The woman asked Christine what she wanted. Not only could Christine hardly understand what she was saying but she didn't know anything about this.

"I'll just get what she's getting."

The woman nodded. Christine looked over at Gemma and Gemma just smiled back. The Korean woman took Christine's hands and went to work.

"Jax is gonna think I'm turning you into a mini me. Speaking of Jax we never finished our conversation earlier."

Christine knew she wasn't going to avoid this so she might as well get it over with.

Letting out a sigh she said "What did you mean by everything?"

"That's something you two are going to have to discuss. I can tell you care about him. It's awful sudden but I see it. Like I said before, you remind me a lot of myself. Fell for Jax's father that way. The one tip I can give you though is watch out for fucking Crow Eaters."

Christine wasn't sure she even wanted to know what a crow eater was so she just let it go. "How do I remind you of yourself?"

Honestly Christine took it as a compliment but she didn't quite understand it.

"You're honest and I can see that in your eyes, you've got a temper and you don't take shit from the guys or anyone else but you'd do anything to protect the people you love, and you can handle and take care of yourself."

"Thank you."

"For what?" Gemma looked genuinely confused.

"That's probably one of the nicest things anybody has ever said to me."

The rest of their time there was spent talking about pointless things like where the best stores in town were. When the two Korean ladies finished their nails Christine was pretty shocked at how good they looked. They were fake but they looked really good. She had gotten them shorter just like Gemma's so she could still function. Gemma paid even after Christine protested but she said it was payback for the food. Walking outside Christine's cellphone started ringing. Digging through her bag she found it and the caller ID said it was Jimmy. Shit she had forgotten to call him back.

"Give me just a second I have to take this," she said to Gemma.

Gemma nodded but stood there with her.

"Hello?"

"Christine. Thank God I got a hold of you. I've been trying to call you for the past two days! We've got a serious problem."

"Jimmy just slow down. What's wrong?"

She heard him take a deep breath "Your dad's been up here the past few days trying to get this place and the shop put in his name. Saying that you're not even eighteen yet so you can't own property. It's got a lot of people up here talking and thinking about giving it to him. You know as well as I do that if he does he's going to sell the place! What is my family gonna do if that happens? What about your grand pappy's animals? You know your grand pappy wouldn't have wanted this to happen. That's why he left it all to you in the first place and had it all paid for."

Christine felt the color drain out of her face so she grabbed on to a newspaper box in front of the store and saw Gemma look over at her worried. Then something inside of Christine snapped. Of all the things her dad had ever done to her. Abandoning her, never coming to see her, always taking Ashley's side, not coming back when Grandpa got really sick, and not believing her. This was the worst.

"That son of a bitch!" she said through her teeth. "I'm gonna fucking kill him. Jimmy don't worry. I'm gonna handle this. I'll call you back soon."

She hung up the phone without a word and bypassed Gemma and jumped into her car. Pulling out so fast that her tires spun she headed across town. Checking the time on her phone it said six thirty. Her dad and Ashley were supposed to be home at five. Good she thought. I can't wait to welcome them home.


	11. Blood on your hands

Okay everybody, after reading all the reviews on the chapter I went back and looked and the chapter was repeated twice. I'm sorry haha. The way I write this I have a word document open on my computer that is huge. It has every chapter continuous from beginning to end on it. That's the one that I write on in case I have to go back and check something. After I get done with a chapter I copy it and paste it into a new document for just that chapter so I can upload it on here and I must have pasted it twice. I was wondering why it was 12,000 + words long. Just another reason you shouldn't upload anything while you're super sleepy. Thanks for reading though and thanks for letting me know about the problem.

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><p>Christine flew across town going sixty the whole way. Weaving in and out of traffic. She was pissed and what Jimmy said kept playing over and over again in her head. She got to her street and she didn't even slow down until she got right in front of her house screeching to a halt. Opening the glove compartment she pulled out her gun and slung open her door getting out. Walking fast up the driveway she noticed her dad's car in the driveway. She slung open the front door and her dad was on a bar stool at the counter and Ashley was on the other side. They both looked her way. Ashley's look of distaste showed all over her face but her dad looked happy to see her. That was until she spoke.<p>

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she screamed taking a step forward. "DID YOU THINK I WASN'T GOING TO FIND OUT?" as soon as she said it she seen understanding come across his face.

"Now just calm down. I'm responsible for you and Christine you're too young to even know what to do with a piece of property like that. If it's put on the market now there's a better chance to get what it's worth out of it before it starts falling apart from no upkeep."

She felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head she was so shocked at his ignorance. Her voice got eerily quiet even though she felt somebody come up behind her. Their heels clicked. Gemma. Of course she would follow her here. She kept on talking without glancing towards her. "That farm, that shop, that land, and everything on it belongs to me. Grandpa left it to me. I guess he knew all along that you were just a snake in the grass. Must have been why he told me I should get emancipated when I was fifteen which I did. I've been legally able to take care of myself since then." Her father's face fell. He hadn't known. "Yeah you thought grandpa was a fool but he wasn't."

Ashley snorted and rolled her eyes. Christine lifted the gun and pointed it right at her. Ashley and her dad hadn't even seen it. When they did though they both looked panicked.

"Don't worry Ashley I'm not gonna shoot you." Christine turned around and handed her gun to Gemma who looked as calm as ever like this was an everyday occurrence. Then she turned back around and walked around the bar and got in Ashley's face. "If you ever roll your eyes at me again, make a backwards comment, or even look at me the wrong way I'll stomp your fucking ass you gold digging slut."

Ashley looked at her without budging and then made the dumbest mistake that she could have in that moment.

She rolled her eyes and said "Oh I don't think you will."

Christine's fist came around in a flash and hit Ashley right in her nose. Blood immediately started gushing out but Christine wasn't about to stop. She kept laying into her hitting her over and over again. Christine felt her dad grab her and she turned around and hit him square across the jaw. Although she was tinier than him she was strong. All those self-defense and weight training classes had helped her in that department. He released her and stepped back with his hand on his face looking angry.

Behind her she could hear Ashley crying. Putting her finger in his face Christine said in her same eerily quiet voice "I'm fucking done with you. I should have never let you in my life. Should have known that you wouldn't ever be a father. A real father doesn't abandon a baby, he doesn't leave a teenager much less his daughter to take care of his dying father, and he sure as hell doesn't treat them like this. You stay away from me, my property, and North Carolina. If you don't I'll kill you. You can tell the cops I threatened you and you can tell them that I came in here and hit the two of you. If you do I'll kill you. I mean what I say."

With that she turned and walked away. Christine walked into her room pulling the moving boxes all her stuff had been in that were collapsed out from under the bed. Gemma walked in and closed the door.

"What do you need out of here?"

"Everything that can't be moved. There's a big army duffel bag in my closet too. I don't care if it's all just thrown in there and in these boxes I just want my stuff and to get the hell out of here."

Christine started crying and Gemma walked over and put her arms around her in a comforting way.

"Listen baby you gotta be strong. Let's get your stuff together. I'll call some of the girls to help."

Christine was embarrassed the she was crying in front of a woman who was so strong. Gemma got on the phone and called Luann and told her to come over to the house that had been for sale next to Jax's and not to worry about knocking come on in and gave them directions to Christine's room. Gemma and Christine got a lot of it packed up before Luann walked in with two other girls. They looked like strippers again but she didn't even care. Christine's tears had long since stopped so she knew that her face wouldn't show it. Gemma was one thing, but these girls were a whole different story. The girls started taking boxes outside to the cars. Once everything was packed and out of there Christine did a once over to make sure that they had got everything and they had. The room was completely empty. All the drawers were taken out of dressers and all their contents gone. The only things left were the bed and the unmade mattress, the desk, and her dresser. She'd buy a new one. She didn't care. Right before she was about to walk towards the front door she remembered the clothes that she had put in the dryer and the ones hanging above it. She walked towards the laundry room passing Ashley who was holding a towel that was soaked in blood up to her nose. She didn't even look at Christine. Christine grabbed all her things and headed towards her car. Throwing the stuff that was left in the front seat. Gemma was talking to Luann and the other girls so Christine walked over to them. Gemma handed Christine her piece back right there in front of all of them.

"I thought for sure you were going to shoot them," she said with a grin on her face. "Never underestimate a woman with a French manicure."

The look on Gemma's face was nothing but approval. Christine looked down at her nails and laughed. She hadn't messed them up when she had hit Ashley or her dad. They still looked cute.

"Well I guess I'm learning from the best. You know I thought I was gonna shoot them too though. But then the thought of jail made me change my mind. I need to find a hotel." Christine said.

"Before we worry about that let's go back to the club and relax first." Gemma said.

They all climbed into the cars they came in and followed Gemma back across town. Gemma pulled up and unlocked the big gate around the lot and let everybody in. Christine put her piece in her bag and got out. She left the rest of her stuff out in the cars and followed the rest of the girls inside the club house. Christine walked in and sat next to Gemma and Luann at the bar. In the mirror behind the bar she could see that all the girls were shooting daggers her way. Maybe they were what Gemma had been referring to when she said crow eaters.

"Hey Gemma,"

"Yeah?"

"I never asked earlier. What's a crow eater?"

"It's the sluts who hang around and fuck the guys. Like them," she said nodding over her shoulder.

Christine laughed and shook her head. "That explains the daggers I guess. Is there a phone book in here?"

"Yeah. Look in the kitchen or in Jax's room."

Christine grabbed her stuff and took off towards the kitchen. Looking through the drawers she didn't find one so she headed back out and down the hallway towards Jax's room passing by the blue bike on display. Shutting the door behind her she laid her bag down next to his bed. It didn't smell bad anymore and she could tell someone had cleaned by looking around. She turned on a little bedside lamp because it had gotten dark outside so she could navigate around the room. Looking on top of his desk she found a phone book in the midst of a ton of other books. Walking around to the side of the bed closest to the door she pulled off her leather jacket, which was over her white tank top, and took off her black high heeled boots and then sat down on his bed tucking her feet up underneath her. Opening up the book she turned to the business section and looked for hotels. There were only two close by. Getting out her cellphone she called the first one. They wanted two hundred fifty dollars a night. She almost laughed out loud. The second one that was a Holiday Inn was only a hundred and ten. Still pretty steep but that's expected. The guy on the phone told her that they had a ton of openings. After she hung up with him she called Jimmy.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey Uncle Jimmy. It's me."

"Hey Christine. How is everything?"

The door to the room opened and Jax walked in. There wasn't enough light for her to see his face but by the way he walked she could tell he was tired.

She sighed. "Everything is gonna be alright. I'll just have to come back to North Carolina and straighten things out. That asshole had a lot of nerve coming up there and doing that. Just don't worry. Tell Mary not to worry either. Y'all are always gonna have a home and a place. You know grandpa wanted y'all to be taken care of. You're family."

Jax walked over to the bed and sat down beside her then laid his head down in her lap. Christine reached up and ran her hands through his hair.

"Well thanks Christine. I'm glad you got it figured out. I knew you couldn't have known though because you would never let something like this happen."

Jax's face was tense and his jaw was clenched. Something was definitely wrong.

"You're right Uncle Jimmy I wouldn't have. Let Mary and the kids know I send my love. I miss you guys. I'll be out to see you in the next week though. But I'll talk to you later. Goodnight."

She got off the phone and sat it on the table beside the bed. Jax was still in the same position.

"Jax," she whispered.

He looked up at her and she could see that something was seriously bothering him. He sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. That's when she saw it. There was blood on his white t-shit. She pulled his cut apart in the front and saw that blood was everywhere.

"Oh my gosh Jax are you hurt?" she asked pulling up his shirt too look at his stomach and chest.

There was nothing there. She was confused and starting to get a little scared.

"Jax what's going on?" she asked looking him dead in the eye.

He sighed and looked back at her like he wanted to tell her everything but couldn't. Remembering what Gemma had said she spoke again.

"What's going on? Tell me everything. Not the cookie cutter version that you think I can handle. I want you to tell me everything."

After a long pause he sighed "I killed someone tonight. This is his blood. This is the life of the great SAMCRO," he bit off sarcastically.

"Why'd you kill him?" she asked.

"He was a MC in the Mayan motorcycle gang. We were delivering guns to the One-Niners. Shit went south. They fired on us. The fight broke out and one of them came at me with a knife and after we wrestled around with it I got it away from him and killed him with it."

It was a lot for her to take in and she couldn't really wrap her head around it but all she wanted to do was comfort him. She got up and walked into the bathroom to find a washcloth. After running some warm water on one and wringing it out she walked back. Laying the washcloth on the bed she pulled him up off of it. Reaching up she slid off his cut. He didn't resist but he didn't move to help her. She laid the cut on the chair behind her. Reaching around his waist she grabbed the back of his white t-shirt and pulled it up over his head and over his arms then threw it on the chair too. She grabbed the washcloth and came back over in front of him and started washing the dried blood off his neck and chest. She looked up at him and saw that he was watching her and he looked confused.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"This isn't how I expected you to react if I ever told you."

"I don't know if you've noticed but I never really react the way people expect me too."

Then she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Jax put his hands on her hips. The shooting pain made her let out a groan and she bit down on his lip and kissed him harder. He pulled out of the kiss and sat his forehead on hers.

"This just seems crazy." He whispered.

"What seems crazy?" she asked just as quiet.

"How much I care about you when I just met you."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She could see that he was serious. Reaching up to touch her lips to his again briefly she replied.

"I know. Now go take a shower."

Jax removed his arms from around her and kissed her again before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. When she heard the water come on she walked out into the main part of the club looking for Gemma. There were a ton of people walking around and partying. Someone had turned on the old jukebox tucked in the corner. She saw her across the room sitting on Clay's lap. Getting up to them Gemma looked at her and then down at her shirt. There was blood on it she hadn't even noticed before. Christine leaned down to Gemma's ear so that she could whisper too her.

"I need something to get blood out of Jax's shirt. A lot of blood."

Gemma looked up at her searching her eyes. She mouthed the words 'He Told You?' and Christine nodded. Gemma pulled her back down and whispered in her ear.

"In the kitchen there's some dishwashing liquid. Just pour it all over the shirt. Don't worry about using it all. It will probably take the whole bottle. But let it sit like that for a little bit and then wash it with warm water. The stains might not come out though. If they don't just burn the shirt."

Christine nodded at her and walked into the kitchen. She found the dishwashing liquid behind the sink and carried it back into Jax's room. Grabbing his shirt and his cut she walked towards the bathroom door. The water was still on so she opened the door and headed towards the sink.

"I'm in here just so you know" she said.

He moved the curtain back a little bit and stuck his head around it to look at her. His hair had water dripping out of it.

"I got blood on your shirt," he said seeing it for the first time.

"That didn't come from you," she said turning her attention back towards his clothes. "I had an interesting night too."

She poured dishwashing liquid all over his white t-shirt and left it lying in the sink. Grabbing another washcloth she wet the end of it and put some dish washing liquid on it and rubbed it over the leather on his coat. A little bit of blood had been on it but it came off with ease. She hung it on the back of the bathroom door on a hook. Looking down at her shirt in the mirror in front of her she was kind of shocked at how much of Ashley's blood had come off on her. She pulled the tank top over her head. There wasn't any reason for her to feel self-conscious in front of Jax. He'd already seen her nearly naked. He was still watching her and she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm not gonna bolt or anything… In case you're wondering" she said looking over at him with a raised eyebrow.

He gave her a little smirk and then pulled the curtain back to how it was and continued his shower. Christine put dishwashing liquid on her shirt too and laid it on the back of the toilet. Coming back to the sink she turned on the hot water and started to wash the blood out of his shirt. After she scrubbed and scrubbed some more she realized she wasn't going to get it out. She wrung the water out of it.

"I hope you have another shirt here."

"I always keep extra clothes here. There's one in there for you too if you need it."

Putting Jax's ruined shirt on the back of the toilet and picking up her own.

"No worries. My whole wardrobe is out in the parking lot."

She heard the curtain slide back again and she started to scrub her own shirt under the hot water.

"Why are all your clothes out in the parking lot?"

"Because the rest of my possessions would have gotten lonely… Shit! This isn't coming out of my shirt either. Your cuts clean though. There wasn't any blood on the patches."

Jax cut off the water and pulled the curtain all the way back. Christine kept her eyes on the shirt she was still frantically scrubbing in the sink. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him drying off and then wrap the towel around his waist. Christine's heart started to beat fast when he walked over behind her and slipped his arm around her waist. Looking up at the mirror she found his face. She leaned back against him bring his arm that wasn't around her waist up and holding it between both her hands. She kissed it and then looked at him in the mirror. Christine felt like her body was throbbing. Turning around in his arms she wrapped her arms around his neck playing with the hair at the nape and kissed him. It felt like her body fit perfectly to his. Christine's heart was racing and it got worse when she thought about him wearing nothing but a towel. She could feel him getting hard through it. In a flash of motion Jax picked her up and her legs were wrapped around his waist. Jax turned around and felt for the doorknob missing a few times but finally finding it and opening it. Christine was kissing his neck down below his ear. She felt his breath hitch and laughed. He laid her down on his bed gently and then climbed on top of her with one knee up between her thighs and the other beside her. Christine reached down to unbutton her jeans but Jax grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head kissing her down the side of her neck and onto her collarbone. He brought his mouth back up to hers and kissed her deeply. After she felt like she couldn't take it anymore she turned her head to the side to break her mouth from him she took a breath and then turned back.

"Please," she said in a strained whisper.

Looking into his eyes she could see desire. Jax let go of her arms and reached down to the button on her jeans undoing them. Slowly he pulled them off. Christine reached up behind her back to unhook her bra pulling it all the way off and tossing it in the floor. Jax took a minute to take her in.

"It's your move Mr. Teller," she said with a smile looking at his towel and then in his eyes.

He smiled back leaning up to pull off his towel. Christine looked down at him and then back up. She wasn't smiling anymore. She wanted him so much that it hurt. Jax reached down and pulled her panties down and off. Moving back up till he was right over top of her he leaned down and kissed her. He reached over into the drawer of the bedside table pulling out a condom and put it on. He searched her eyes making sure there was no doubt. Christine opened her legs inviting him in. Jax positioned himself and watched her face as he slowly slid inside her until he was all the way in. Christine sucked in a breath. Reaching up to hold on to his back she kissed his neck and then his lips. Jax thrust into her harder this time and Christine let out a loud moan. She felt Jax chuckle and he did it again. This time she dug her nails into his back wrapping her legs around his waist. They both took turns learning each other's likes and dislikes. Christine didn't like to be on top because she felt awkward. Jax didn't like doggy style because he felt like it was how guys had sex with random girls who didn't matter. Jax's back was super sensitive and so was Christine's neck.

Christine was the first to finish with a long moan her legs tightening around him. Jax finished right after collapsing on top of her. They lay there like that. Just letting there breathing regulate to normal. Jax, still lying between her legs, wrapped his arms around her back and laid his head on her stomach. Christine just ran her fingers through his hair. They could hear the music and people laughing and partying in the main room of the club house, but they felt so far away. Like they were in a world all their own. Jax had fallen asleep but Christine was still running her fingers through his hair. That was until halfsack busted through the door without knocking. Jax was still breathing heavy but Christine grabbed the pillow behind her head covering her body and then screamed.

"GET OUT!"

"Oh I'm sorry. So sorry," he said pacing in front of the door.

Christine shook Jax.

"Tell him to get out of here! I'm naked!" she hissed.

Jax cracked open and eye and looked over towards halfsack and grumbled "Get the fuck out."

"Sorry Jax everybody was just wondering where you were. They sent me to come find you," He said still pacing.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Jax yelled.

Christine stopped moving. It scared her because she had never heard Jax yell like that. But halfsack left right after that and she relaxed again. Jax started laughing. They were still entangled with each other so she could feel every vibration.

"I think he saw me naked," she said.

"That means you're probably the first girl he's seen naked since he got back from leave," he said smiling up at her. Pulling out from underneath him she wrapped the blanket they had kicked off the bed lying on the floor around her.

"Where are you going? He asked sleepily with a grin looking up at her from the mattress.

"I am going to take a shower. So that if anyone else comes in here they won't catch me naked again."

With that she turned and dropped the blanket and bent over grabbing his towel and making her way into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. She got in the shower and turned it on and stood there letting the warm water wash over her. After she had washed her body she put shampoo in her hair and lathered it up. She heard the shower curtain move back and she cracked one eye open to see Jax climbing in with her. She just smiled really big.

"What are you smiling for?" he said teasingly.

"Oh no reason." She said with her poker face.

Jax reached out and started tickling her.

"Jax!" she squealed. "Stop before I fall or get soap in my eye.

He let her go and she finished rinsing out her hair.

"Would you like to use the water Mr. Teller?" she asked grinning with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah that would be nice." He said smiling back at her.

They maneuvered around each other switching places. Jax turned around facing the water and Christine saw his back for the first time. There was a tattoo covering his whole back. It read 'Sons of Anarchy' then the picture of the reaper on everyone's cuts and then 'California' written underneath it. How had she not seen this before she wondered. Reaching out she ran her hand over it. Jax tensed up his back. Christine started to see the scratches all over his back. Oh my gosh! She thought. I did not do this.

"Did I do that?" she asked feeling guilty and rubbing her finger across one of them.

"Yeah you did," he said turning around smirking cocking and eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry."

He leaned down and kissed her. "Don't be," he said with his mouth close to her ear. "It means I did something right."

"Oh I see Mr. Cocky."

He just smirked at her. When he turned back around Christine wrung the rest of the water out of her hair and then climbed out of the shower. Once out she grabbed the towel that she had carried in there. There wasn't another one and she didn't want to leave Jax without one so she ran it through her hair a little bit and then ran it over her body hanging it over the rack so it could dry a little bit. She grabbed hers and Jax's shirts that were stained with blood and walked out into his room quickly making her way to the door to lock it. The last thing she wanted was for someone else to see her naked. Pulling on her bra and panties and her jeans she walked over to his dresser to find a t-shirt. She found a black one and pulled it on. Tying it at her hip so that it wasn't so big she walked around the bed putting on her jacket and boots and picked up the bloody clothes, her bag, and Jax's lighter that was sitting on top of his dresser. She unlocked the door and walked out to the main room. Everyone was still partying hard and didn't notice her as she walked on past them outside. Christine had seen some barrels outside her first day that were used for fires. She walked over to one that was in the middle of a bunch of picnic tables. There were a few big pieces of wood in it and she struck Jax's zippo and sat the edge of her tank top on fire and waited for the flame to climb a little higher before she dropped it in the can. Not waiting to see if it would light she lit Jax's and threw it in the barrel too. It took about two minutes before the fire was going on its own. She sat her bag down and put the zippo beside it and sat down on the top of the picnic table with her feet on the seat part leaning her elbows on her knees. She heard the door open and some footsteps. Looking over her shoulder she saw that a few people were coming outside. They all took seats around the barrel on the various picnic tables. Christine could see halfsack who was obviously avoiding looking at her sitting directly across from her on the other side of the barrel. Gemma and Clay were at the table next to her sitting on the bench. Tig was making out with some random stripper girl singing some random song with a bottle of liquor in his hands. Opie was with another girl named Lyla who was with the Luann earlier. She was actually nice. Chibs was sitting at a table by himself drinking a beer staring into the fire. Everyone else though was in groups talking to each other. The door of the club opened again and she knew it was him. The table she was sitting on moved a little bit and then Jax sat down behind scooting up until she was sitting in between his legs. Christine leaned back into him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"So you never did tell me why all of your stuff is in your car." He said more loudly than she wished he would have.

Gemma turned towards them as did a few other people.

"You didn't tell him?" Gemma asked smiling.

"Tell me what?"

"Oh this one here beat the shit out of her step mom today. You should have seen me trying to keep up with her through town after she spun out of the parking spot at the nail place. She didn't break all the way there. She was already inside by the time I got there. Took her gun in and everything." Christine tensed up in his arms but Gemma continued. "I was so proud," Gemma said laughing. "She's not dumb though she handed me her gun and then handled her business. Where'd you learn to hit like that anyways? That girl's nose was gushing blood. I thought your dad was gonna cry when you hit him."

Gemma obviously had too much to drink because she was slurring and laughing. Christine just wished she wouldn't have said that just now in front of everybody.

"So you moved out?" Jax asked.

"Yeah," Christine said in a dry voice.

"Where are you staying?"

She really didn't want to talk about this here and now but everyone was still looking and she supposed they all wanted the answer.

"Well I'm gonna be at the Holiday Inn for a few days and then I'll either start looking for an apartment or pack up and go back to North Carolina."

Jax's grip on her tightened. Everybody continued partying but it started to get late. Christine was tired and she wasn't going to sleep out here on the picnic tables like Tig, the girl he was with, and Bobby were doing.

Christine went to stand up but Jax didn't loosen his grip around her.

"I think you should come home with me tonight." He mumbled in her ear.

She got a cold chill and shivered.

"No. I'll just go to the hotel."

"Why?" he said playfully in her ear again.

Christine turned to face him where he was talking in her ear. She gently kissed him.

"You're gonna have to stop talking in my ear like that and I don't want to stay at your house because it's right next door to my dad's house. I can't be over there right now," she whispered.

Grabbing his hands and moving them so she could get up she straightened out her clothes and looked around for Gemma but didn't see her anywhere.

"Where did your mom go? I need to get all of my stuff out of her car and whoever else has any of my stuff."

"They went inside. Come on," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her behind them.

It was pretty quiet inside the club and Jax walked off to go find them. He told Christine to come with him but she decided to stand near the bar. When he walked off though she just stared. She loved the way he walked. It was way too sexy. Thoughts of earlier crossed her mind and she smiled goofily. Jax came back around the corner twisting a set of keys around his finger catching her in the act.

"What are you smiling for?" he asked playfully as he got right in front of her.

"I don't know?" she said biting her lip and looking down.

They walked out to where the cars were sitting and started strategically placing her stuff in her car so that it would all fit. They got it all in there and none of her stuff had been in anybody but Gemma's car. Christine leaned in the driver's side door and threw her bag in the passenger seat. Standing back up she turned around a leaned against her car. Jax was leaning on Gemma's car, which Christine was sure she wouldn't approve of, right across from her.

"Come home with me." He tried again.

She sighed "I can't."

Christine pushed up off her car and made her way over to him. She grabbed ahold of his belt loops and pulled him towards her. He gave her that little smile that drove her crazy. Leaning up she kissed him. Then she pulled back from him and climbed in her car.

"Bye," she said before closing her door.

She started her car and headed out of the parking lot. The Holiday Inn was twenty minutes away and the whole ride over she regretted not going to Jax's. Leaving all her stuff in the car other than her bag she locked the doors and went inside to get a room. As she was standing there letting the guy check her information she made up her mind to go to his house. The guy at the counter looked at her strangely when she took back her driver's license and told him never mind. Walking outside and getting back in her car she headed across town to Jax's. She killed her lights at the end of the street and crept her car along until she pulled into his driveway beside his bike. The way the trees were no one at her dads could see her car unless they pulled in his driveway. Getting out she grabbed her bag and locked and closed the door. As she made her way up the sidewalk she saw that all the lights were off in Jax's house but his door was cracked open. Christine reached into her bag and pulled out her gun taking off the safety. Making her way up the steps she stepped inside. After a few steps she stopped to see if she could hear anything. From behind her a hand came out and clamped down on her mouth. Another hand grabbing the hand her gun was in.

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><p>Okay haha. So just a little information. This was the first sex scene I've ever written. I thought that was the perfect time for it to go down though. Thanks for reading and God Bless!<p> 


	12. A new Sheriff in town

Hey guys! I just wanted to say another quick thank you. There's a ton of you following this now and I'm shocked but very thankful that you think its actually good enough to take the time to read. So I hope you enjoy. I'm trying my hardest to keep continuously writing so that I don't leave really big gaps of time in between the chapters but college sometimes gets intense and hectic.

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><p>"Shhh it's me. Calm down and be quiet."<p>

As soon as Christine realized it was Jax her body relaxed and she stopped fighting him off. He released her and then got still. She was wondering what he was doing until she heard it. Someone was down the hallway throwing things around. Christine slowly reached down and pulled off her boots not making any noise. Jax was watching her though the question of what she was doing written all over his face. He pulled his gun out from underneath his cut and mouthed "Stay here" to her. She set her jaw and shook her head no. Anger flashed across his face but she just stared back at him refusing to cave. He shook his head in resolve and slowly started down the hallway. Christine was on his tale but keeping a little distance in case she needed to move out of the way. Her gun was locked and loaded in her hands and the way she was holding it was straight out of something you would see in a cop show on TV. Jax finally made it right outside the door he peeked around the corner and then moved back. He turned around and leaned down towards her ear "Go call mom tell her to send the guys" he whispered. Christine wanted to argue but she knew this was serious by the look on his face. Creeping back down the hallway and onto the front sidewalk she walked over to the back of her car. That way no one could see her and she was far enough away that they couldn't hear her. Laying her bag up on the back of the car she reached into her bag she quickly dialed Gemma. After three rings Gemma picked up.

"Hello?" she said in a voice that told Christine she was sleeping.

"Gemma you have to send the guys to Jax's it's an emergency."

Sounding fully alert now she said "What's going on?" In the background she heard Gemma talking to Clay "Get up. Jax is in trouble. GET THE FUCK UP!"

"Somebody broke in Jax's house. He's in there now."

Christine saw movement at the other end of the house. A Mexican guy in a cut was walking towards the front door looking around to make sure no one saw him. He was holding a gun too. He didn't see Christine though. She was still in full on black and the trees concealed her.

"Christine! Christine what's going on?"

Christine didn't answer her. She gently closed her phone hanging up on Gemma and sat her phone on the trunk of the car. The guy had just disappeared into the house. Running quietly up the sidewalk she ran up the stairs and into the house. They guy was gonna run up on Jax and Jax wouldn't be prepared. When she rounded the corner to the hallway she could see that the Mexican guy was creeping towards Jax down the hallway. Jax had his back to them. In a split second Christine raised her gun a fired three shots. She got him once in the top of his right shoulder and then two in his arm. Jax whirled around to look what was going on and then quickly turned back to the door as another Mexican guy was running out. Jax pistol whipped him and the guy hit the floor out cold. Jax reached over and kicked the guy Christine had shots gun away from him down the hall towards Christine. He was lying on the floor bleeding everywhere but was still trying to drag himself over to the gun. Christine bent over and grabbed it tucking it in to the waist band of her jeans at her lower back.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He nodded running his hand through his hair. "I should be asking you that question. Where did he even come from?"

"I went and called your mom and while I was out there this asshole creeps around the house. He didn't see me though but he must have known you were here. Your mom's gonna be pissed that I hung up on her without fully telling her what's going on."

Off in the distance Christine heard the rumble of motorcycles. The Calvary in leather she thought.

A minute later SAMCRO was pouring through the door guns drawn like a swat team. Christine moved into the living room sitting on the couch out of their way. Gemma was the last to come through the door. She spotted Christine and ran over.

"Is everything okay?"

With a sigh Christine said "Yeah, I got him before he got Jax. There's blood everywhere in the hall though. I'm sure the carpets fucking ruined, But he isn't dead," she finished seeing the look on Gemma's face.

Gemma walked back towards the hallway disappearing out of sight. Christine stood up and walked into the kitchen grabbing her boots on the way. Opening the fridge she leaned down and grabbed two bottles of beer. It had been awhile since she had drunk but she figured she needed it now more than ever. Sitting one down on the table and twisting the cap off the other she flopped into one of the kitchen chairs chugging down a few gulps. Bending down to pull her boots back on she saw Chibs walk into the kitchen pulling out a chair next to her. He put his gun inside of his cut and then spoke.

"You gonna drink that?" he asked pointing towards the unopened bottle.

She pushed it towards him taking another swig of her own.

"Nice job in there."

"Thanks." She said flatly.

She turned up the rest of the bottle and chugged it down. "To shooting people," she said raising her bottle in the hair.

"Aye." Chibs said lifting his own bottle.

They sat in silence and Christine twisted her empty bottle on the table. All the guys started walking out the front door and then she saw a few of them carrying the two guys out. The guy she shot looked bad. His face was pale and green. He must have lost a lot of blood. Chibs stood up and walked outside leaving her by herself again. She stood up walking back to the fridge and grabbed another beer. She leaned against the cabinets twisting of the cap. She turned it up and chugged down a few big gulps. She was already starting to feel buzzed from drinking so fast. Jax, Gemma, and Clay walked into the kitchen. Gemma went over sitting down at the table and lit a cigarette. Clay leaned against the kitchen door jamb crossing his arms over his chest. Jax walked over to Christine taking the bottle out of her hand. He turned it up and killed half of it before handing it back. She finished off the rest of it and threw the bottle in the trash and then walked back over to Jax. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Well," Gemma said finally breaking the silence. "You two can't stay here tonight. After you get done doing what you need to do," she said looking at the boys "you can either stay at the club or at the house. I don't care which one but you're not staying here."

Christine's eyelids felt heavy. She forgot how nice it was to drink. It took the edge off.

"We'll stay at the club" Jax said looking over at her and then back at his mom.

"I'll take Christine back and we'll wait for you."

"Mom you drive over there." He said looking at Christine again.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I can drive my own damn car thank you."

"Just let her drive. Please?"

Clay hadn't said anything and when she turned around again she saw that he was staring at her like he had been the past few days. He looked like he was still trying to figure her out.

Clay stood up straight "Come on Jax we got shit to handle."

Gemma stood up and walked outside with Clay. Jax hung back a minute until they disappeared out the door. He turned around and picked her up sitting her on the counter. He kissed her briefly and then laid his head on her chest.

"Today is turning out to be an extremely long day," he grumbled. He pulled back and looked in her eyes and smiled. "and you're such a lightweight," he said laughing.

She bent down and kissed him a little longer this time.

"You should go," she said pulling back. "Don't want you to get in trouble."

He helped her off the counter and they walked outside together. Jax closed the door locking it. They were walking down the driveway, Jax's hand on Christine's lower back, when Christine spotted the cop car. She tensed up but Jax whispered in her ear.

"Just relax. He's on our side."

Christine stopped Jax turning him around to face her and pulled the guy she shots gun out of her waistband and handed it to him. She tucked hers in the same place. Jax put the gun in the other side of his cut and they continued to walk. Christine headed for her car and Jax for his bike. Gemma was already waiting at the cutlass. Walking to the back of her car Christine grabbed her stuff off the trunk and climbed in the passenger seat. Gemma got in on the driver's side and stuck out her hands. After Christine handed her the keys Gemma cranked the car and backed out of the driveway maneuvering around the motorcycles that were left. Christine saw Tig and Happy shove the two Mexican guys into the back of the cop car.

"Can we hit a burger joint on the way back? I'm starving."

Gemma laughed shaking her head "Yeah."

After going through the drive-thru Christine sat in the passenger seat chomping on the French fries she was snagging out of the bag riding back across town. Pulling into the lot at the club Christine got up the courage to ask Gemma a question that had been bugging her before they got out.

"Hey Gemma I've noticed Clay staring at me like he really doesn't like me. Why does he do that?"

"He thinks you're going to get Jax unfocused. Now come on and let's get inside," she said dropping the conversation.

As Christine got out of the car closing her door with her bag slung over her shoulder, her night clothes, and her food bag in her hands she wondered why he would think that. Gemma locked the car doors and then led the way into the club. Gemma handed Christine her keys and walked into the kitchen. Christine followed behind her and sat down at the table in the corner.

"You want another beer?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah," Christine said.

Gemma got two out of the fridge and walked over and sat down herself. She slid Christine one of them across the table and then opened her own. Christine opened hers and took a drink.

"You're really turning out to be old lady material you know that."

"Okay?" Christine said laughing.

"You got a hell of a shot."

Christine didn't want to think about this anymore. She wanted to think about anything but this. She faked a yawn.

"Gemma I think I'm gonna go lay down. I'm pretty tired."

"Alright." She said as Christine got up from the table.

Christine could tell that Gemma didn't believe her but she wasn't gonna say anything. Grabbing all her stuff she headed towards Jax's room. She was pretty buzzed and felt kind of off balance. Getting inside and closing the door she took off everything but her panties and put on her night shorts and the tank top that matched. They were both white but her shorts had little vertical grey stripes. Folding up her clothes into a pile she sat them next to the bed and her bag. Sitting down she opened the food bag and pulled out her burger and fries and used the remote to turn on the TV that was sitting on top of the desk across the room and ate her food. After she got done eating and finished off her beer. She mindlessly flipped through the channels for twenty minutes. It didn't distract her from her thoughts though. There was just no getting the fact that she shot that guy out of her head. She turned off the TV and got under the covers and shockingly fell asleep quickly.

Christine felt the bed move behind her and then felt Jax's arm go around her waist.

"Come here," she heard a voice say.

Christine's eyes popped open it wasn't Jax behind her. Whoever it was grabbed her and tried to pull her over to them. Christine reached down into her bag grabbing her gun. As soon as she got her hand around it the right way she swung around hitting the guy in the side of the head with the handle. He fell off the bed into the floor. Quickly jumping up next to him she flipped on the lamp and pointed her gun at him. It was Tig and he was laughing.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she yelled at him.

"Take it easy honey," he said getting up and coming towards her. "You have to earn your place here."

Christine lifted the gun up and stuck it right in the center of his forehead. Tig wasn't smiling or laughing now. He raised his arms up.

"Hey take it easy," he said backing up and walking towards the door.

Christine followed him every step of the way keeping the gun exactly where it was. He reached down and opened the door and kept walking backwards towards the main room.

"Let me just make this clear I'm not a whore and that shit doesn't fly."

She saw him flick his gaze downward towards where his gun was as they were still making their way down the hallway. Christine knew he was about to make a grab for it.

"Don't even think about it. It will take you about three seconds to reach down there and grab that gun and pull it out but its only gonna take me a half a second to put a bullet in your head."

Christine could hear people talking and laughing as they got to the main area but as soon as Tig and her got into viewing distance everything came to a stop.

"Clay! We got a problem. Hey Clay get out here," Tig yelled.

All the guys started coming out of the room where they had meetings. Clay was the second one out. He clenched his jaw when he saw Christine holding a gun to Tig's head.

"Now let's just calm down," he said in his deep voice.

Jax walked out of the office last. He looked extremely confused when his eyes found the action.

"Christine what are you…"

Christine cut him off. "I wanted to come let everybody know, after this jackass came into the room I was sleeping in thinking he was going to fuck me, that this shit isn't going to fly. That's not why I'm here. As for the 'earning my place here' as he called it you're all fucking crazy. You're lucky I didn't fucking kill him as soon as he touched me."

Christine looked over at Jax. She was hurt and had thought that he was different. When she saw his face though she knew he hadn't known anything about this. He was seething with anger. Christine dropped the gun from Tig's forehead and pointed it at the ground.

"What the fucks going on?" Jax asked Clay.

"We had to make sure she was here for the right reasons. Especially with the way she acts. Can't have just anybody around here."

"The way I act?" Christine said.

"Yeah, you're jumpy and you act weird around everybody. You seem suspicious to me. Never know who might be trying to infiltrate the club."

Christine was getting pissed "So you think that just because I'm jumpy and I act weird something's up?" she felt tears start to come up in her eyes. Whether from anger or sadness she didn't know. "You fucking asshole! I was raped four months ago! How the hell am I supposed to act?" she screamed.

Clay looked like somebody had slapped him. Christine whirled around and took off for Jax's room. Once inside she threw the gun down on the bed and started putting her clothes back on. She was not going to stay here. So much for no one knowing. She had just told a room full of guys and sluts what happened to her. When she got pissed she always spoke before thinking. She tucked the gun into the back of her waist band and pulled Jax's black shirt down over it and then put on her jacket. When she was stuffing her night clothes into her bag she heard something break out in the main area. Picking up her bag and digging out her keys she walked back out to where the ruckus was coming from. Opie and Juice were holding Jax back from Clay who now had a busted lip. Piney was shaking his head. Tig was standing near the bar sucking down Tequila straight from the bottle. All the girls who had been in the room were standing over in a corner out of the way. Christine kept on walking headed for the door. Passing by the bar she grabbed a bottle of Jack that hadn't been opened.

"I do believe I'll be taking this," she said to Tig.

She heard Jax tell Opie and Juice to let him go but she wasn't about to stop. Making her way into the parking lot she kept walking towards her car. She heard his footsteps running up behind her before he said anything.

"Christine wait." She ignored him. "Christine wait!" he yelled angrily grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

When she turned she didn't hit him this time. She just looked up at him with her jaw clenched.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the hotel to get drunk." She said holding up the bottle.

He physically relaxed. "Need some company? I need to leave and let this shit blow over anyways."

She didn't reply she just lifted her shoulders in a 'whatever' kind of way and walked over getting in her car. Starting the engine she pulled out. Jax cranked his bike but Christine pulled out before him. Looking in her rear view mirror Christine noticed a car a little ways down the block turn its lights on and pull out coming her way. It followed her for two blocks. She could see that Jax was a little ways behind them. Blue and red lights came on and she started slowing down about to pull over to the side of the road. She grabbed the bottle of liquor and sliding it in one of the boxes in the back seat underneath some clothes before coming to a complete stop. Getting out her cellphone she sent a text to him knowing he wouldn't get it until after he turned off his bike. There was no way he would hear it over the engine.

_Holiday Inn. Get a room and I'll meet you there after I get done with this bullshit._

Christine pulled the car to a complete stop and rolled her window down. Jax drove on past her and kept going until he was around the block. The police officer got out of his car and made his way up to Christine's window shining the flashlight inside.

"Good evening Ma'am, would you mind stepping out of the car."

Christine got out and stood beside the car. The cop in front of hers nametag said Deputy Chief David Hale. He looked to be about two years older than her and looked way too young to be a police officer.

"Is there a reason why you pulled me over Mr. Hale?" she said crossing her arms.

He pointed the flashlight at the ground and seemed to really take her in for the first time.

"You were weaving a little bit back there."

"Oh is that right. So why were you sitting outside of the Teller-Morrow Garage?"

Christine knew that she shouldn't be talking to a police officer like this but after earlier and now this bullshit her patience was running thin. Officer Hale looked sort of shocked that she had saw him sitting outside and that she knew he had followed her.

"Is there anything in your car I need to know about?" he asked with a no nonsense look.

"No but there's a .45 tucked in my waistband."

"Why do you have a gun?"

"For protection, and it's registered to me and I have the right papers to carry it. All the information is in the glove compartment and my license is in my bag too."

He didn't even search her car after that but he did make her get out her license and put her gun in the glove compartment. Handing everything over she rolled her eyes at his tries of getting her to tell on herself. What an amateur she thought.

"I'm gonna need you to blow in this," he said putting the machine up to her mouth.

Christine leaned over and tried to breathe in the machine. She wasn't able to fully do it. It was like trying to punch a hole in a cement wall and it just wasn't happening.

"Can you try a little harder," he snapped.

Christine's anger flared up and she narrowed her eyes "You act like I suck dick for a living. It's too fucking hard to blow on."

She felt all her embarrassment come flooding up from earlier and she was trying with everything in her to keep the tears back. Officer Hale looked at her and his features softened.

"Hey I'm sorry. Look don't cry." He said as tears started rolling down Christine's face.

"It's been a really rough day okay? I really just want to go check in at a hotel and sleep. So can we just get this over with?"

"I need you to blow in this as hard as you can okay?"

Christine took a deep breath and put the thing back in her mouth and blew and blew until she thought she was going to pass out. It took this time though and in a few seconds it beeped.

"Well this says 0.03 Miss Lancer and you're underage so I'm going to have to take you in. Turn around please."

"Let me get my bag and lock my doors. Everything I own is in this car and if it or anything in it gets stolen I'll be pissed."

He nodded and she reached into the car grabbing her bag, phone, and keys out of the ignition and locked the doors then shoved everything inside of her bag. Then she turned around to face him.

"Do you really have to cuff me? I'm not belligerent or anything."

"Afraid so, its protocol."

With a sigh Christine turned around and put her hands behind her back. The officer put the handcuffs around her wrists and led her over to the back of his car. Christine ducked her head and then sat down in the backseat. He took the seat belt and put it around her and when he leaned over her to buckle it Christine was shocked at how close they were. She turned her head and waited for him to shut the door.

"Are you okay?" he asked from right in front of her.

She turned her head back around and he hadn't moved.

"Y-yeah. I just have really bad luck with backseats."

He looked at her strangely and then got out shutting the door hopping into the front seat. He put his car in drive and they made their way across town to the Charming Police Station. The police station was a brick building with a pretty small parking lot and it looked pretty desolate other than a few police cars. The officer walked around to her door and undid her seat belt helping her out. As he led her up the stairs and into the building she saw a few cops in police uniforms but she also saw three people in suits. One was a woman with a little longer than shoulder length blonde hair and two men were with her. The woman smiled at Christine in an 'I know something you don't know' way. Officer Hale led Christine over to a door and she saw that it was an interrogation room.

"Sorry about this," he said. "Really."

He led her over to the chair and took off her handcuffs. Before she could ask him what he was talking about but he walked out.

Rubbing her wrists she wondered what the hell all this was about. After sitting there for fifteen minutes the woman she'd seen when she walked in came strolling into the interrogation room and closed the door.

"Miss Lancer." She said with a smirk walking over to the other side of the table and sitting down.

The woman threw a file folder on the table which Christine was sure had all her records in it. What she didn't understand was why she had been brought in here if she'd just got in trouble for drinking.

"My names Agent Stahl and I'm with ATF. What's your relationship with Mr. Jackson Teller and the Sons of Anarchy?"

There was no way she was playing into this woman's game so she didn't say anything.

"You know since coming here we've learned a lot of interesting things about your friends. It seems your boyfriend and his little club have ties with the IRA."

Again Christine didn't say anything.

"Officer Hale tells me you own a gun. What do you have that for?"

Christine raised an eyebrow. "For protection."

"Protection from what Christine?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips.

She knew that this woman knew about what had happened four months ago. She also knew she was trying to get a rise out of her. It was written all over her face.

Smiling right back at the woman she said in a cool voice "Oh Agent Stahl… you know why I have it. If you've done your job like I suspect you have you've read everything in that file folder and you know everything about me. Also being as smart as I'm sure you are, you know that I don't like police officers seeing as how most of them don't give a fuck about what's right and what's wrong and I sure as hell don't like being here. Officer Hale whom I suspect is standing right over there behind that two way mirror brought me in here for drinking under age and driving. If you're not going to charge me for anything I'd like to leave now."

Agent Stahl wasn't smiling anymore. Her eyes were narrowed but as she got up she spoke. "It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Lancer. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again real soon. But a piece of advice. I would choose my friends wisely because I wouldn't want anything like this to happen to you again." With that she opened the file folder and threw it down on the table. There was the pictures from four months ago staring back at her; covered in bruises half naked. Christine felt bile rise in her throat. The woman didn't even take the folder with her as she left. Just leaving it there to stare Christine in the face. Christine turned her head though so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore. Officer Hale walked back into the room to get her.

After he got over to the table and saw the pictures he sucked in a breath. "Jesus Christ" he said looking at the open folder. "What the hell happened to you?"

Grabbing the pictures out of the file and stuffing them into her bag she sighed. "Well let's see I was in a relationship with a guy who beat the shit out of me every day. Those pictures were taken at the hospital the night after he drugged, beat, and raped me. Now if we could please get this done I'd really like to leave."

She stood up and waited for him to take her back out front. He closed the folder and picked it up leading the way out the door. Officer Hale pointed towards a row of seats against the wall and told Christine to go sit over there.

"You need to call a parent or guardian to come pick you up."

"What if I don't have a parent or guardian? I've been emancipated since I was fifteen."

"Well someone over the age of eighteen needs to come pick you up since you've been drinking."

Christine laughed and dug her phone out of her bag. Dialing the number she put it up to her ear.

"_Christine? Where the hell are you?"_

"I need you to come pick me up at the police station. These dumbasses have had me in here for the past half hour." Looking over she saw that Officer Hale was staring at her and he had obviously heard her call him a dumbass. "I mean these outstanding officers of the law have had me here for the past half hour." She said smiling a big fake smile at him.

"_Son of a bitch. I'll be there in a few."_

"Alright," she said hanging up the phone.

Officer Hale came over and sat down beside her. Letting out a sigh he said "This time you're getting off with a warning."

"Because you brought me in here on a bogus charge so that your butch friend could question me?"

He looked at her and shook his head letting out another sigh.

"You really shouldn't talk to police officers that way; you can get yourself in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah sure, but Officer Hale I'm just curious of one thing. How old are you?"

Averting his eyes and focusing on the clipboard in his hands he mumbled "I'm twenty one."

Christine started laughing and he glared at her.

"What the hell's so funny?" he asked angrily.

"I knew you were younger but that young? Oh my gosh I thought you were at least twenty nine."

Looking hurt he asked "You think I look that old?"

"No no no. It's just aren't you supposed to be old if you're an officer?"

"Not always. I went to the academy right after I graduated high school."

"What made you want to be an officer?"

"In high school all the gang stuff was just as bad as it is now. I wanted to put a stop to it."

Christine thought about Jax and the stuff the club was into.

"That's a good reason," she said looking up to meet his kind eyes.

"I also joined to protect people from stuff like what happened to you. Sorry she showed you that stuff. I'll be glad when they pack up and get out of here."

"It's okay."

"Listen what she said though about you hanging with the wrong people…" he ripped a piece off of the paper on the clipboard and handed it to her. "If you're ever in trouble call me. Okay?"

Christine wasn't sure to make of this but she stuffed it in her bag.

"Okay."

Christine heard the door behind her open so she turned to see who it was. It was Jax walking towards her with that walk that drove her crazy. She grabbed her back and went to go meet him half way until she saw that Jax was pissed. He walked over and ignored Christine completely.

"What the fuck did you bring her in here before?"

"That's police business and I don't believe it concerns you Jax."

"The hell it doesn't" he said moving in closer to the officer.

Christine started to panic. It was one thing to be a smartass to a cop but to start yelling at them and to get into a fight was a whole different story. Officer Hale had gotten on his feet and she tried to put herself between them. That's when Christine saw Agent Stahl with her smug little grin walking towards them. Christine knew that it was going to get worse if she didn't get him out of there.

Reaching up and putting her hands on either side of his face to try and get his attention she said "Jax. Jax please look at me," in a quiet voice.

It got his attention and he looked down at her. Christine put an arm around his waist and steered him towards the door.

"Jackson Teller" Agent Stahl drawled out in a condescending way.

Christine winced at the sound of her voice.

"Come on Jax lets just go," she whispered.

But Jax was already turning around to see who was talking to him. Agent Stahl walked on up with that grin still permanently attached to her face.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting," she said sticking out her hand. "I'm Agent Stahl. I'm with ATF."

Christine felt Jax tense up and she tightened her grip on him.

"Got sent here to handle some... problems," she said looking Jax up and down.

"Come on Jax lets go." Christine said

"Oh Miss Lancer don't forget what I said. Choose your friends wisely. We wouldn't want things to get bad for you again."

Officer Hale moved over then yelling at Agent Stahl. "That's enough of that! You can't just come in here and patronize people that way."

While Officer Hale was getting into a heated confrontation with Stahl Christine drug Jax outside.

"That's why they brought you here?"

"Yeah."

"Son of a bitch. Come on we gotta get back over to the club and tell everybody," he said walking towards his bike.

Christine was adamant about following him not wanting to go back there.

"And what did she mean by in your file?"

Christine sighed taking the helmet he was holding out from him. "When I was in there she was telling me I should be careful who I hang out with unless I want to end up like I was four months ago and she showed me those pictures. No stop," she said grabbing his writs when he turned to walk back in the building. "Let's just get to the club and get this over with. I'm tired Jax."

"Alright." He said getting on his bike.

Putting her bag across her body and then putting on the helmet she climbed onto the back of his bike. Reaching up underneath his t-shirt she grabbed onto him like he was a life line and he cranked the bike. Taking a last look towards the police station she saw Officer Hale standing outside watching. Jax took off and the building and Officer Hale faded into the distance.

Pulling up at the club Christine saw that there were a few guys outside smoking and talking. Getting closer she saw that it was halfsack, Tig, and Opie. They started walking over to where Jax was pulling in next to all the other bikes.

"Clay's pissed you know," Opie said letting out a big cloud of smoke.

"One of Luann's girls called Gemma. She's in there now and she was pissed about what you two did, especially you hitting Clay, but then when she found out what Clay asked me to do… let's just say pissed doesn't even begin to describe it," Tig said.

Christine sighed getting more and more nervous. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation and a confrontation with Gemma at that.

"You go ahead in there and do what you need to do Jax I'll wait out here," she whispered to Jax.

"Oh no you gotta come in and let us know what was said at the police station. We're gonna need every detail."

"What happened at the police station?" Tig asked meeting Christine's eye for the first time.

"Let's just make her tell the story one time but ATF's in town. Go round up everybody and tell them we've gotta do church right now."

"Shit!" Tig groaned.

Tig, Opie, and Halfsack quickly took off in three different directions to let everyone know that there was a meeting. Christine climbed off the back of Jax's bike taking off her helmet. Jax got off and grabbed her hand pulling her inside. As soon as the door was open though Christine heard Gemma yelling.

"Of all the dumb shit you've done. I told you not to fucking mess with her and you couldn't even trust my word on it? I hope you don't think you're getting any pussy anytime soon! Do you think pushing Jax away like this is good for the club? "

Christine hadn't noticed that she had stopped until Jax squeezed her hand and started pulling her again.

"Come on, she's not that bad."

They continued to walk and no one else was in the club that Christine could tell other than Gemma, Clay, Jax, and her.

"Mom, Clay you two need to come out here."

Gemma appeared in the doorway of the clubs meeting room where she and Clay had obviously been fighting. Her face was red and she looked livid.

"Where the hell have you two been? You can't just leave everything fucked up like this and then leave!"

"Mom calm down. Christine's been at the police station for the past hour. I told Ope and Tig to round everybody up. We've got more serious shit to worry about."

Fifteen minutes later Christine was surrounded by Clay, Bobby, Tig, Chibs, Opie, Halfsack, Piney, Juice, Happy, Gemma, and Jax in the meeting room. Never being in this room before she was kind of in awe. Especially at the table that they were all sitting around. It was wood but in the middle the Reaper that was the clubs symbol was carved and it was beautiful.

"Now tell everybody exactly what happened," Gemma encouraged sitting on her left while Jax was sitting on her other side.

"Well when I pulled out of here earlier I saw a car down the block through my rear view mirror pull out too. The car followed me for like two blocks and then the lights flashed on. So obviously they were waiting for someone to pull out. Whether they knew it was me or not I don't know. It was a cop. After he made me get out and do a breathalyzer he tells me that he has to take me in because I was drinking underage and driving. So we get there and he takes me to an interrogation room. Well in walks this bitch who says she's ATF. Her names Agent Stahl. She's asking me about my relationship with Jax and my relationship with the Sons of Anarchy. I just didn't say anything because its none of her damn business but then she starts telling me about how since she's been watching you guys she's learned all kinds of things like how you have ties with the IRA. I didn't say anything and then…"

"Go ahead baby," Gemma said.

Christine sighed "Then she asked me why I owned a gun and I knew she was trying to get a rise out of me. I told her it was for protection and she asked me protection from what. The bitch was really pissing me off so I told her that she knew why I carried it because she'd read my records and knew everything about me. Then I told her that they brought me in there on a bullshit charge and that if she wasn't going to charge me then I wanted to leave. That pissed her off I guess and she told me that I should be careful who I hang around with if I didn't want to end up like I was four months ago. Then showed me those pictures."

Christine stared down at the table not wanting to meet anyone's eye because she felt like she was about to cry.

"What pictures?" Juice asked.

"Nothing that concerns the club it's just…" Jax said.

She was sick and tired of running from her past. It was getting too strenuous to have to keep that part of her a secret.

Christine cut him off. "They were pictures of me from four months ago. The pictures," she said pulling the pictures out of her bag and throwing them in the middle of the table. "Of me the night after Chris drugged me and then dragged me to the back of his car. Where he beat me and he raped me."

Jax reached over and grabbed her other hand underneath the table running his thumb back in forth in a soothing motion over the top of her own. Juice's curiosity got the best of him and he leaned forward sliding the pictures towards him. Christine watched as shock washed over his face and then he looked up at her.

"Shit! A guy did that to you?"

"Yeah" she whispered.

Clay who was sitting at the head of the table beside him took them out of Juice's hand and looked at them. He wiped his hand down his face and it went on like that with each one of them taking a turn to look at it. She didn't really understand why they all wanted to look at it but she figured it must just be curiosity. When everybody got done they just sat there for a minute but Christine had to say something else.

"Look. I know that that shit is shocking when you're seeing it for the first time. But it's in the past. I don't want any of you assholes treating me any differently. But what do we do about the ATF agent? What do you need me to do? This bitch is most definitely out for blood."

Clay cleared his throat. "We gotta get this bitch off our back."

Gemma turned towards Christine "Come on; let's let the boys discuss this in private."

Christine squeezed Jax's hand and then stood up grabbing her bag and walked out with Gemma. Gemma closed the door behind them. Christine thought about how her car was still sitting on the side of the road.

"Gemma can you do me a favor?"

"Sure what do you need?"

"Will you take me to my car? It's like two maybe three blocks from here."

"Yeah come on."

They walked out to Gemma's car and got in. Christine showed Gemma which way to go and then pulled in behind Christine's car and let her out. After getting out Christine leaned back down to speak to Gemma.

"It's almost five in the morning and I really just want to get some rest. Will you let Jax know that I went to the hotel?"

"Alright I'll tell him. Oh and Christine,"

"Yeah,"

"Don't be too hard on Clay and Tig. It's just really important to protect the club. You understand that right?"

"Yeah and thank you," she said closing the door and walking over to her own car. Getting inside she put her bag in the passenger seat and pulled out her keys cranking the car. Riding across town she thought about how she had been so scared for everyone to find out she had been raped and about what Chris had done to her. But she felt stronger somehow. Like everything was actually going to be alright. Pulling into the parking lot of the hotel she dug the bottle of Jack out from underneath the seat and turning around and leaning over her seat she dug around in the boxes until she found the pair of boxers and t-shirt Jax had let her borrow the other night. She figured is he did come he would need something clean to sleep in. Not needing anything else, since her clothes were already in her bag, she got out of the car and walked into the lobby of the hotel. Walking up to the front desk she saw that it was the same guy from earlier. So much had happened since she'd been here.

"Excuse me," she said getting the guys attention from the TV he was watching.

"Can I help you?" he said standing up.

"Yeah, a friend of mine got us a room and I don't have a key."

"I can't just give you a key to his room."

Christine sighed getting agitated. "Look just give me a room then."

Christine got everything filled out and then got her key from him heading back out the door and towards the actual rooms. The part of the hotel that the rooms were in was actually another building that was on the other side of the pool. There were only two floors in the hotel and she was lucky enough to get one on the bottom floor. Walking over to the door she slid the key into the key reader and opened it. Nothing looked better than the bed. It had been an extremely long day. Closing the door and sitting her stuff on the dresser to her right that had a TV on it she started taking off her clothes. Once she had her night clothes on she pulled her cellphone and texted Jax to let him know that she was in room 302 and poured some of the whiskey in one of the little paper cups that come in the hotel room filling it about half full she carried her phone and the cup over to the bed and sat back against the headboard crossing her legs at the ankles letting the stress of the day go.


	13. Hard Goodbyes

After finishing the whiskey that was in her cup and turning on the TV in the room she laid across the end of the bed and fell asleep.

BANG BANG BANG

Christine was jerked out of sleep and in the process rolled over the tiniest bit falling off the bed.

"Ow!"

Christine heard the noise again and realized it was actually someone knocking on the door. Looking at her phone that had been in her hand before she fell she saw that she had fallen asleep for a half hour. Pulling herself up with the help of the dresser she stumbled over to the door. After looking out the peep hole she saw that it was Jax. She reached up and tried to unlock the door and missed. Falling into a fit of laughter she knew she was drunk. Reaching for the lock again she got it and opened the door. Although Jax's face had stress written all over it Christine couldn't stop laughing. Walking back towards the bed she fell back across it on her back where she had been lying earlier and Jax shut and locked the door. She stared up at the ceiling while he took his cut, Hoodie, and T-shirt off.

"There're clothes for you in my bag," she said laughing again.

Jax walked over and opened her bag and pulled out his clothes.

Stripping down the rest of the way right there he slid on the boxers she had in her bag. She heard his two rings he wore, one that said SO and the other that said NS, clink against the bottle of whiskey.

"Did you drink all this?" he asked picking it up.

"I would tell you but then I'd have to kill you."

This started a whole new fit of laughter and everything was blurry. Jax walked over to the other end of the bed on the side her feet were on and sat down on the edge. Opening the bottle he tipped it to his lips and started chugging it. After five big gulps he put the top back on it and sat it on the table next to the bed. She heard him sigh and looked over to see him leaning down to put his elbows on his knees. Whatever the guys had talked about must not have been good. Sitting up she crawled over behind him and sat back on her legs and ran her fingers over the tattoo on his back tracing the pattern.

"What's wrong?"

"Shit's gonna get bad with ATF here and Clay's making stupid decisions that are gonna screw the club," he said.

Christine leaned up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Let's not worry about it right now. Let's just rest, okay?" she asked kissing his neck.

Jax picked up the bottle and opened it taking another big drink before putting it down and turning around to face her.

"Are you okay? I mean with everything that happened earlier."

Blowing out a deep breath she laid back staring at the ceiling again.

"Yes, no, and I don't know. I understand why Clay did it but I don't understand why he didn't just get Juice to look me up like you did."

Jax laid down beside her, "That's what I was talking about. Clay's getting sloppy and he's putting greed and selling guns over what's best for the club."

They laid there for a long while in silence passing the bottle of whiskey back and forth drinking it. Christine was the first to break the silence.

"What's your favorite color?" she said turning her head to look at him with a big smile on her face.

He laughed and then looked at her, "What?"

"I want to know what your favorite color is."

He thought on it a minute. "Blue. Yeah definitely blue. What's yours?"

"Black." She answered without hesitation.

"What did you want to do when you were a kid?" he asked looking over at her with a curious smile.

"Well I always played with all the animals on the farm and pretended that I was a vet. It's actually still what I want to do. I've always loved animals. What about you?"

"I wanted to be a biker just like my dad. The open road and just feeling free. He used to take me riding around and I loved that."

"Well it looks like you grew up to be just what you wanted."

"No not really."

"Who's your favorite super hero?" she asked changing the subject.

"I don't know if you would consider him a super hero but The Punisher. Always liked him growing up."

She thought on his answer a minute before speaking. "I can see that, I mean he's misunderstood. He's driven by what was done to his family."

"Who's your favorite super hero?"

"Well I went through a faze from when I was kid until…. Well okay I never grew out of it but The Ninja Turtles." Jax laughed. "Don't laugh at me," she said smacking him in the stomach.

"What do you want most right now?" he asked.

"Some more whiskey and it was my turn." she said laughing and then taking the bottle out of his hands and taking another drink. "What do you want most right now Mr. Teller?"

"You."

Jax leaned over on top of her and kissed her drawing it out slowly. Christine tried to place the bottle she was holding in her right hand in the floor and failed miserably. Pushing him up off of her with her left hand she laughed.

"Let me sit this in the floor before its everywhere."

Christine leaned over and sat the bottle in the floor and then sat back up on the bed. She pulled her tank top over her head and threw it on the floor. Jax who had been watching her pulled off his boxers and then pulled off Christine's night shorts and panties. She welcomed him like an old friend when he crawled between her legs and entered her.

Christine laid beside Jax on the bed underneath the covers later on that morning running her finger over his stomach. The sun was starting to come up and she could see it through the corners of the closed curtains. It was cold in the room from the air conditioner under the window that had been on all night. She thought about getting up to cut it off but decided against it. Jax had long since fallen asleep but she couldn't. There was too much on her mind. As she had started to sober up her anxiety was growing. She had to leave for North Carolina later on today. If she didn't whatever her father had messed up could cause her to lose the farm and the shop. She couldn't let that happen. She also didn't know whether or not she would stay there permanently or not but it was what was most likely. Looking up into Jax's sleeping face she felt her heart feel like it was going to shatter. How could she already be so attached to him? How the people back in North Carolina were going to react scared her too. Before she came out here she had stayed home all the time avoiding people at all costs other than school. But now she had had a taste of freedom and there was no way she could go back to being that way. It was crazy how things had changed in just a week. If it hadn't have personally happened to her she wouldn't believe it. Christine knew she had a long drive ahead of her not to mention a hard time explaining this to Jax. Closing her eyes she tried to put everything out of her head so she could rest.

Waking up Christine was alone in the bed lying on her stomach. The blankets were barely covering her butt much less anything else. She heard the shower in the bathroom running. Sitting up and wrapping the bedspread around her she walked over to the dresser where her bag was lying. Pulling out her cellphone she saw that it was one in the afternoon; Saturday afternoon to be exact. She let out a big yawn. Christine could have sworn that it was Sunday. She really had to pee but standing there debating whether or not peeing in front of Jax wasn't helping. Walking across the hotel room and over to the bathroom door she opened it.

"Jax I gotta pee," she said hopping from one foot to the other.

She heard him start laughing. "Well pee then."

Walking over to the toilet and dropping the blanket she sat down and peed. She felt so awkward and self-conscious. After she got finished with everything and flushed she started out the door but Jax's wet arm wrapped around her waist.

"Come here."

She could see him smiling with water running down his body behind her because of the mirror in front of her. Turning around she climbed into the shower with him pulling the curtain back closed. Jax kissed up her neck and over her jaw making his way to her lips. Grabbing on to her hips avoiding her bruise he pulled her closer. She felt like he always knew exactly how to hold her. His tongue was exploring her mouth but Christine pushed on his chest to move him away from her.

"Jax I'm going back to North Carolina," she blurted.

"I know." He tried to pull her close again.

"No I mean I'm going and I'm probably not coming back."

Jax dropped his hands from her hips and looked in her eyes to see if she was joking. Not finding any humor he rubbed one down his face. She could tell that this had hurt him. He quickly put on an act that said he didn't care and it felt like a slap in her face.

"Well it was fun while it lasted right?" Stepping out of the shower he grabbed a towel throwing a few last words over his shoulder. "I gotta get to the club."

Then he was gone closing the door behind him. It was like she had been a cheap whore who he'd used for the night. Christine felt the tears come up in her eyes but that wasn't the worst part. She started to feel something she couldn't explain. It had been awhile since she had a panic attack but this didn't feel like that. This felt like someone had just stabbed her from the inside. Hearing the door to the other room close shut in finality she started crying. Grabbing her chest she bent over and grabbed the edge of the bathtub. _Breathe_ she thought. _Just breathe. If you can't do anything else just breathe! _Christine finally calmed down enough to get a shower. Stepping out she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and they were puffy from the silent tears she hadn't been able to stop. But she also recognized that same shut down look in her eyes. The one she had had for a year with Chris and she welcomed it. She didn't want to feel any of this right now. Walking out of the bathroom and leaving everything she was feeling there to stay she put on her clothes and gathered all her things. Everything that had been on the dresser she stuffed inside of her bag taking the key card too and then slung it over her shoulder. Taking a last look around the room to make sure she hadn't forgot anything she saw the bottle they had been drinking from last night. It was still a fourth of the way full. Walking over towards it she slumped down on the edge of the bed picking it up. Turning it around in her hands she thought about last night and lying in Jax's arms. Before the tears could come again she shoved the bottle down in her bag and stood up making her way to the door. Digging in her bag to find her aviators she pulled open the door. The sun was still shining and she paused in the doorway to slip on her sunglasses saying a silent goodbye to California and walked out to her car. Getting inside and putting her bag in the passenger seat she cranked the car and headed out of the parking lot. Turning up her cd player she heard Tim McGraw blaring out Kristofferson. She smiled a sad smile and sang along loudly drowning everything else out. On her way across town though she thought about Gemma. There was no way she could leave without saying bye to her. She knew she might see Jax but she also knew that Gemma had been a big part of her being happy here. She trusted this woman now and she couldn't leave like that. Pulling up in front of the garage and club she stopped to steady herself and then pulled in. A few of the guys were outside but she didn't see Jax. His bike was over with the rest of the guys though and she spotted Gemma's car too. Keeping her sunglasses on so no one would see her face she got out of the car with just her keys and the clothes Gemma had let her borrow and walked over to Gemma's office. Everything was silent but the guys working on cars in the garage and the click of the heels of her boots on the pavement. Taking a breath to steady herself she stepped inside Gemma's office. Gemma had her hair up in a clip and had her glasses on reading over some papers. Laying the clothes down on the chair next to the door Christine cleared her throat. At the sound Gemma looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey baby. I wasn't expecting you today."

Christine felt like her heart was going to break again.

"I came to say goodbye."

Gemma seemed to really take her in this time and stood up. She walked over in front of her with her eyes narrowed and pulled Christine's sunglasses off. Christine stared at the floor. She knew that Gemma would see where she had been crying and she felt embarrassed yet again.

"What do you mean you're leaving?"

"I've got to go settle things back home."

"Okay, well when are you coming back? We'll have a party."

She finally looked up at Gemma with tears in her eyes.

"I'm probably not coming back."

Gemma's face grew solemn and she looked towards the club.

"Does my son know?"

Christine felt a sob coming and she couldn't speak for fear it would come out so she just nodded.

Gemma reached out and hugged her and then pulled back.

"What did he say?"

Taking a few breaths to get ahold of herself she spoke with the sadness still coming out in her voice.

"He seemed upset for a second but then he acted like he didn't even care and said he had to leave."

Christine saw a few of the guys come out of the club through the open door of the office. Her panic started to grow that Jax was going to come outside.

"Don't mind that. He's just like John in that way. Stubborn and doesn't want to let you know how bad he's hurting. Always been a stubborn little shit if you ask me."

Christine reached out and took her sunglasses from Gemma and then hugged her. Gemma patted her on the back and then Christine pulled back.

"Thanks Gemma. For everything."

Christine had her sunglasses and her keys in her left hand as she made her way across the parking lot. Halfway there she saw another group of guys walk out. Tig, Opie, Clay, Bobby, and Jax bringing up the back. He saw her and she averted her eyes. Trying to hurry to her car she saw him coming out of the corner of her eye. As hurt as she was she was mad. Mad that he had walked away from her that way. He made it to her before she made it to her car.

"Christine. Christine wait a second," he said when she tried to walk around him.

Looking up at him she leveled him with a glare.

"Look I'm sorry about this…"

Christine slapped him so hard across the face that it echoed around them cutting off his words. Jax's face went from shock to anger. She knew that it wasn't just because she had slapped him. It was because she had slapped him in front of the club who was standing around watching along with Gemma. Christine could see a mark that was identical to her hand coming up bright red on his face.

Speaking with her jaw clenched she said "No. You don't get to apologize." Her voice growing extremely loud she continued "You made me feel like a whore this morning! Like something you used and then threw away. You Jackson Teller are an asshole. So fuck you! And fuck the Harley you rode in on."

Walking past him and to her right she slid on her sunglasses. Walking up to the driver's side of her car she opened the door climbed in and then slammed it. Putting the keys in the ignition the radio picked up where it had left off and was blaring loud enough that people a block away could hear it. It scared her coming on so suddenly. Black Dahlia by Hollywood undead was halfway through and the lyrics blared out as she put the car in gear.

_Obsessed with the thought of you, the pain just grew and grew! How could you do this to me? _

Christine put her foot on the break when she got near him reaching behind her to grab his shirt she had had on the night before. Slinging it out the passenger side window at him he caught it. Then she took off out of the parking lot taking a left towards North Carolina.


	14. Home

Hey y'all I am so sorry that I didn't put a note on the last chapter to let you know that it wasn't the end of the story. This story is far from over and Jax is coming back for people who will probably be wondering by the end of this chapter. This is a Sons of Anarchy fanfic of course haha. I hope y'all like it. God Bless and thank you for reading.

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><p>Christine had been on Interstate forty for what seemed like forever. Looking at her phone to check the time she saw that she had been on the road for exactly eighteen hours and thirty nine minutes. She could have made it sooner if she hadn't taken her time or stopped to sleep. She had made it all the way to the good state of Texas. Amarillo Texas to be exact. She had gotten another hotel room and was bringing some stuff inside so she could get cleaned up and get some rest for the drive tomorrow. Locking her car doors and then struggling with her usual bag she carried with her, her keys, a bag of food from a fast food joint, and her army duffel bag that had clothes, bath stuff, and other junk in it. Unlocking the door she pushed her way inside and threw everything down on the tiny circular dining table next to the window and walked back to close and lock the door. Pulling off her black hoodie she sat down in one of the chairs and ate her food. Christine had spent the whole trip so far going over a game plan for when she got home so she wouldn't have time to think about Jax. Her thoughts always went there though. He had called her at least eight times since she left. She'd let it go to voicemail every time. He had left voicemails five out of eight times but she still hadn't checked them. Out of sight out of mind seemed to be her motto at the moment and it was helping her to keep going. Throwing all her trash in the trash can next to the dresser with the TV on it she plugged up her cell phone and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. Getting in she turned the hot water all the way up and stepped into the steamy water letting it take the tenseness in her muscles away. It was hell driving a car for that long and being in the same position. Getting done with her shower she stepped out wrapping her towel around her and brushed her teeth. Plugging up her hair dryer she ran another towel through the ends of her hair before drying it.<p>

Fifteen minutes later she had finished in the bathroom and came walking out with all her stuff. Pulling on a pair of night shorts and a t-shirt she walked over to her bag pulling out her gun and putting it on the bedside table next to her cell phone. She noticed that the light on it was blinking meaning she had a missed call. Hitting the buttons she saw that she had a new voicemail and it had come from Jimmy. She'd called him about an hour after she first got on the road. He was probably just calling to check on her. Knowing that she would have to go through all the old messages to get to Jimmy's she didn't want to. But it could be important. Sitting down with a sigh she called her voicemail and put in the passwords. After the automated voice told her her options and she pressed the right button the voicemails started playing.

"_Hey it's me. I can't believe you fucking hit me like that and then took off. I really hope you didn't leave tow. Call me back."_

Christine saved it and went to the next message but just the sound of his voice brought up the recent hurt and sadness.

"_Hey it's me again and I still haven't heard from you. The least you could do is call me back."_

Saving this message too she the next one started.

"_Christine…" _she heard him sigh. _"I'm really sorry okay? I can be a asshole. Please just call me."_

Christine felt like she was going to cry as she saved this message too. The rest of the voicemails said basically the same thing. Jimmy's message was last and he had just called to make sure she was okay like she had thought. Lying back on the bed she debated whether or not calling Jax would be a good idea. She didn't want to hurt him or lead him on. The truth of the matter was she probably wasn't coming back and drawing the inevitable out would hurt worse. Not letting him know she was okay though would piss her off if someone did it to her. She lifted her phone up and stared at it deciding that texting him would be the best thing to do.

_I got your messages. Everything's fine. You don't have to keep calling._

Christine crawled underneath the covers and sat her charging phone back onto the bedside table and turned off the lamp cloaking the room in darkness.

Christine woke up and the sun was shining bright. She knew that she had over slept and when she looked at the clock on the bedside table it said it was four in the afternoon. There was an eleven hour drive ahead of her so she figured she'd make it home at about three in the morning if she left now. Getting up she showered and got dressed pulling on a pair of boot cut jeans a white tank top and her cowboy boots. Packing up all the rest of her stuff she headed out. She hadn't had but five hours of sleep but it would do. Checking her phone once she got in the car she saw that there hadn't been any reply texts or calls from Jax last night and she was glad for it. Having her full concentration on the drive was what was important. Christine pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the gas station that was over by the interstate 40 exit. She filled the gas tank up all the way and walked inside to pay. There was a boy behind the counter who looked to be sixteen with a big cowboy hat on. Christine smiled as she walked back to the drink cooler in the back. Grabbing a Styrofoam cooler that was on a shelf at the end of the isle she grabbed a bunch of water bottles and bottles of apple juice out of the big coolers putting them down in it. On her way back up front she grabbed a bag of ice and started up the snack isle. Christine picked up a bag of beef jerky and stared at it a minute and then grabbed all the other ones that were on the shelf and a few packs of M&M's and walked with her arms full up to the counter. After sitting everything down the boy at the counter smiled at her.

"Hey ma'am. How are you today?"

"I'm doing good. Can you just hold this right here for me? I'll be right back."

Christine didn't wait for a reply and headed down another isle grabbing a bag of Doritos, a jar of pickles, and two cans of spray cheese and carried them back up to the counter. The boy raised his eyes at her like he thought she was crazy.

"I'm on a road trip back home," She explained.

"Don't see too many girls coming in here getting this much food though," he said with a goofy grin.

Christine started thinking about Jax and her at the diner.

"Miss, uh hello."

Christine looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said that'll be a hundred and seventeen dollars and nine cent for everything including the gas."

"Damn that is a lot of food ain't it?" she said pulling out some money.

She got done paying for everything and the boy behind the counter helped her carry it out to the cutlass.

"Dang this is a nice car," he said as she got the last of her stuff put in the floor board of the passenger seat.

"Thanks and thanks for helping me with this."

"Ah you're welcome ma'am. You be safe now ya hear?"

"Alright. You too."

Christine got in her car and then got back on interstate and started the last leg of the journey home.

It was five thirty in the morning and Christine was about two miles from home. There had been a horrible wreck back near little rock that had held her up for a few hours. She was getting closer and she was getting excited. Coming back she didn't figure she would have missed it this much. Pulling up she stopped the car at the gate that was shut. It was connected to the wooden fence that surrounded the whole property. Her grandpa and his daddy had put it up by hand back when he was a kid. Putting the car in park leaving it running she stepped out to walk over to the mailbox. Jimmy didn't check it but once a week if that and there was a stack of stuff inside of it just as she suspected. Walking back across the dirt road she got back in the car and put the stack of letters in the seat beside her and headed down the long dirt driveway. It was about a mile long before you came up on everything. Off on the right was the barn and past that the pasture. The barn was huge and it was red with white trim. Christine knew that the five horses she'd helped raise plus all the other animals were inside for the night and that it smelled like hay. A little ways to left of the barn was the house. It looked just the same as last time. Everything was dark and wooden and it was pretty big too. It wasn't as big as the barn but it was quite a spread. The house had a metal roof and looked kind of like a log cabin although it wasn't. It was crazy for her to think that her family had built everything out here by hand. The house had that big ol' front porch with the wooden rockers on it. Then to her left was the big pond she'd almost drowned in when she was six. Her grandpa had put out some of those plastic ducks and told her they were real. When it started getting to be fall Christine had walked out on the dock and watched them. She remembered that it was freezing outside and she had had on a red sweater, her jeans, and her boots. Always having a soft spot for animals she felt sorry for those poor ducks that seemed to always swim. Climbing in her grandpa's little wooden fishing boat she untied it from the hook on the dock and paddled her way out to the middle. When she reached over to grab the duck to pull it in the boat she had lost her footing. Christine knew how to swim at that age but the water had gotten so cold that it took her breath as soon as she hit it which made her panic. She would have drowned if Jimmy wouldn't have been close by and heard her screaming. Her grandpa gave her a hard time later that night when he asked her how in the world she could have thought those ducks were real because they'd been swimming for months. They laughed it off though and drank hot chocolate by the fire.

A trucks lights coming down from Jimmy's house brought her out of her thoughts. The driveway kept going on up to the left of the house up the hill to Jimmy's. She knew he'd have his shotgun with him when he got here so Christine cut off the engine and climbed out shutting the door behind her. When Jimmy's truck pulled up beside her he didn't look mad.

"Hey Uncle Jimmy. Sorry to get here so late there was an accident out near Little Rock. Took me two damn hours to get around it."

"Girl you had me worried and I didn't know who was pulling up down here at five in the morning," he was smiling though as he got out of the truck and wrapped her in a hug.

Jimmy smelled like a woodstove and Copenhagen. That was his smell for as long as she had known him. It was comforting. He looked and sounded just like Sam Elliot but his hair and mustache were a little darker and he stood at around six two. Christine pulled back and saw Jimmy's chocolate lab Waylon jumping around in the back of his truck wanting some attention. Walking around to the tailgate she let it down wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey boy, what you been doing since I been gone huh? Oh don't lick me in the face," she said giggling.

She pulled back and Waylon jumped out and walked around the truck out of site. Christine turned back to Jimmy and put her hands on her hips.

"Care to help a tired young lady carry all her stuff in the house? It would be greatly appreciated."

He laughed his deep bear laugh. "Do you even have to ask?"

They carried all of Christine's stuff into the house and put it near the door in the living room. Piling it into a big pile out of the way. When they got finished she gave Jimmy a hug and told him she'd talk to him later. Coming back inside and closing the door she flipped on the light and took a minute to really just take in her home. It looked the same as when she had left it except maybe a little dustier. Everything was rustic. The big overstuffed brown couches were in from of the stone fireplace off to the right that had been built by her family too. The high ceilings and the wood floors throughout the entire house were a medium brown color. The whole area was one big open room. To the left was the kitchen with its black marble topped counters and the bar that stuck out. The bar stools at it looked like pieces of logs and were older than dirt. They had been twenty years old and used when her grandpa had bought them thirty five years ago. Closer to her was the big rectangular chestnut colored table. It had the fall table settings at it that she had put out before she left. Behind it against the wall was her grandma's china cabinet with all the fancy dishes on display in it. Nobody used them except for on the Holidays. Her grandpa had installed lights in the cabinet when she was a baby and it made everything inside sparkle. Especially the antique pure silver silverware set that had been passed down through the generations on her grandma's side. Separating the two halves of the rooms were wooden posts that came down from the wood beams that went across the ceiling. Looking up she saw the stuffed black bear her grandpa had killed on a hunting trip a few years back. It had stood at six five when it was alive. Her grandpa had got it stuffed to where it looked like it was laying down on and stuck it on the beams right when you come in the door. When Christine had first saw it she'd almost had a heart attack. Now it was just a funny joke her and her grandpa had shared. There were a few deer heads on the wall around the room too. Her grandpa and her great grandpa had killed them on hunting trips over the years along with the stuffed bobcat sitting on the mantel of the fireplace. Christine walked past everything running her finger over the wooden table, which had picture frames on it and a tray that had been painted in Native American markings which was for your keys, behind the couch realizing that there was lots of cleaning to do tomorrow. Throwing her own keys into it she headed down the hallway on the other side of the room passing the main bathroom on the left before stopping in front of her door on the right. Her grandpa's room was the last door on the left and the guest bedroom was the last door on the right. Turning the knob and pushing open the dark brown door she reached over to her right and flicked on the light switch. The same familiar hot pink walls were staring back at her. With her dark brown antique desk that had been her grandma's over in the left corner covered in stuff that she hadn't picked up before leaving on the opposite wall next to her window. On the wall above it was a horse calendar and a dry erase board that she wrote feeding schedules on. Her bed was in the middle of the wall to her right. Her walk in closet and the door to her own bathroom were on the wall on her left. Her dresser was on the wall at the door next to the light switch. Her bedspread was a flannel pattern that was red, brown, and green. All of her furniture was a dark mahogany. There was a pair of huge steer horns on the wall over her bed. Looking at them she smiled. Her grandpa had brought those home from one of his cattle drives he'd went on with Jimmy. He'd went on and on about where they had come from. Christine walked in and stood in front of her dresser looking at all the ribbons she had won when she was younger. Some were for barrel racing and others were for jumping but that seemed like a lifetime ago. Her eyes fell on the picture of her and Whiskey. Her horse she had had since she was twelve. He was so dark brown that he looked black but when he was in the sun he shone a true whiskey color. All Christine wanted to do was breathe in his scent and ride him. Making up her mind she turned off the light as she rushed out of the room and jogged out of the house. Christine ran all the way from the house over to the barn and pulled open the door. She heard all the horses start awake. She walked to the very first stall and looked inside and saw a female horse named Nova. A paint that her, her grandpa, and Jimmy had rescued a few years ago. She had been wild and had been roaming up in the mountains going through other ranchers land to get there. The ranchers were going to end up killing her so they went and got her. It took Christine a little over three months to break her. Now she was a big softy. Christine stopped and leaned over the stall door to rub her hand over the top of Nova's head.

"Hey girl. You wanna go out?"

Nova neighed butting Christine's hand with her nose. Laughing Christine walked back over to the door she had come in at and closed it securely. Walking to the opposite wall and passing all the other stalls where the door to the pasture was she opened it and walked back to Nova's stall. Opening the door she led the horse out to the pasture and let her walk out. Nova trotted over to a pile of Hay that was lying in the middle of the pasture. Christine walked back to the second stall where Duke was sticking his head out. Duke had been her grandpa's horse. He was the biggest horse they had. He towered over Christine and was and old horse, but he was smart. He was about sixteen now. Her grandpa loved John Wayne so he had named him Duke. Duke had been around since she was a toddler. Duke was a solid chestnut colored horse with white from his forehead down to his nose. He had always had the silkiest mane. Christine brushed her fingers through it and then touched her forehead to his own. Duke had taken it hard when her grandpa died. He stopped eating and if you let him out in the pasture he would just stand in the same place all day. Christine had hung one of her grandpa's cowboy hats on a nail in his stall after the vet told them they might have to put him down if he didn't start eating. The hat smelled like him and Duke had started eating after that. Christine was running her hand up and down his neck when he backed up and turned walking over to the cowboy hat. He touched his nose to it and neighed then turned his head back to Christine walking closer. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

"I know boy. I miss him too," she said wrapping her arms around his neck. Pulling back she opened the stall door.

"Come on now let's get you out to the pasture."

Duke walked out and took off towards the pasture on his own without having to be led. Christine's grandpa had always told her that horses could sense what you were feeling and they could understand you. It had sort of freaked her out the way horses could always pick up on what she was feeling but now it was just something she loved about them. Closing his stall door back she walked to the next stall. A solid white horse was looking timidly back at her.

"Hey Ghost," she said opening the stall door and walking inside.

Ghost was another rescue. He was really skittish of people he didn't know. His previous owner had beaten him really bad. When he had been brought to their farm he was in pretty bad shape with bruises and cuts all over him and wouldn't let anyone but Christine near him. Everybody had been baffled by how quick he had taken to her but her grandpa had said it was because every man just wants to be loved by a good hearted woman. Walking over to him she rubbed her hand down his neck and over his back. She felt him physically relax beneath her hand.

"Easy now don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on lets go outside."

She led him over to the door and let him go and then closed the door behind him. Walking over to the next stall she let out Cheyenne. A pregnant horse that was a dark grey with a black mane and tail. Cheyenne went and joined the other horses at the hay pile. On her way back to Whiskey's stall she saw another horse in the extra stall at the end that she hadn't seen before. It was a cream colored foal with a brown mane and tail that couldn't have been more than a year old. Christine was shocked but it wasn't because there was a little pony here it was because this pony had scars from burns all over his right side. The wounds were healed but they were still visible. Christine felt sick. She could hear Whiskey putting up a fuss because he knew she was there but she had to know more about this horse. Walking over to the office she opened the door and turned on the light making her way to the desk. Looking through the paper work on the desk she came up on the ponies papers. His name was Apache and he was a little over a year old like she had thought. He was another rescue who belonged to them now but he had gotten the burns from his previous owner who had thrown gasoline on him and then sat him on fire. Christine winced in pain at the thought of the cruelty and the hurt this animal had gone through. Reading more of the papers she saw that the pony was skittish, wouldn't let anyone ride him, and got aggressive if you got too close. Knowing that she would have to work with him she walked out of the office cutting off the light and shutting the door heading across the hall to the food storage room. Pulling out a few carrots she shut the door behind her and headed for the ponies stall. He eyed her warily backing up to the corner. Opening the stall she walked inside closing it behind her. She could see that the pony was getting agitated. He really didn't like being pinned into a corner. He didn't trust her and he was going to get defensive.

"Easy boy, easy," she said in a soothing tone.

She walked slowly towards him so she wouldn't scare him and held a carrot out to him. He eyed it warily and then took a step closer.

"It's alright. It's just a carrot. See there."

He took another step towards her and craned his neck to pull the carrot out of her hand. She held on tight so that he would have to get a little closer. When he did she waited until he had eaten all of the carrot before she got another one from her other hand and gave it to him. This time she took a step closer. She could see he was still nervous but after tucking the other two carrots in the pocket of her jeans she slowly reached out and ran her hand down his neck. He tensed up and neighed pulling back a bit at first but then relaxed.

"Good boy. I'll have you fixed in no time."

Christine decided against trying to get him out into the pasture with the other horses tonight and left to go see Whiskey. Whiskey was craning his neck out of the stall neighing up a storm. Christine laughed at him shaking her head.

"Boy you sure don't change do you? Still as jealous as ever."

Christine opened his stall door and led him over to the area where they saddled the horses latching him up so he couldn't run off. Hurrying into the tack room she got all of his saddle stuff and brought it over sitting it down on a stool. She reached up and scratched behind his ear.

"I missed you the most. Sorry for leaving you like that boy."

Christine threw on his saddle and got him all set then walked him over to the closed barn door on the side where the driveway was and led him out closing it behind them. Christine could see that the sky was turning a pink color. It wouldn't be long before the sun came up. Putting her boot in the stirrup she pulled herself up and onto the saddle and got the reins in her hands.

"You ready?" she asked him.

He neighed and Christine gave him the signal to go and they took off up and around the pond passing Jimmy's house and heading for the trail. After they had rode up the steepness of the mountain they came to the stream and Christine navigated Whiskey across it. She could tell Whiskey really wanted to run so when they got to the straight away of the field she let him take over and in an instant they were flying. She had missed this so much. Being on a horse was one of the most freeing things in life. It was almost like being on a motorcycle she thought just less scary. Images of Jax flooded her mind. Pulling back on the reins she slowed Whiskey down to a trot and turned him around so they could head back. They had gotten at least eight miles away and the sun was peaking up over the trees. All she could think about was Jax now though. Christine felt in her pockets for her phone and realized she had left it back in the house. Getting lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed how far they had gotten back until they came to the stream. Christine was halfway across when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye off to the right up the hill. Looking up she saw a guy on a horse coming down the trail that led to a few other neighboring farms. Squinting against the sun she saw that it was the man from next door. She lifted her hand in a wave and he waved back. She finished crossing the river and headed the rest of the way home.

On her way back down towards the pond she saw that Jimmy's truck wasn't at his house which meant that he was already down at the barn. Christine hopped off of her horse when she got a little ways from the barn and walked Whiskey back in and over to the wash room and cleaned him off. After putting him back in his stall where all the other horses now were she went and put all Whiskey's stuff back in the tack room and headed for the other end of the barn where the other animals were. She could hear Jimmy in there. There was a hallway that went off down past where the office and storage room were. Opening the door she walked in. Jimmy was feeding the eight milk cows and the four other cows along with the bull.

"Hey" she said.

"Girl, I bet you haven't even unpacked yet and you've already been out on that horse."

With a smile she said "Ah, Uncle Jimmy you know me all too well."

Walking over to the oldest cow they had named Maggie she patted her head and then walked over beside Jimmy.

"You need any help?"

"You look like hell. Go on in there and get some sleep. I can manage and I hired that kid Tyler from over at Johnny's. The one who rides bulls. He needed some extra work while he ain't on the circuit so he's been picking up the slack."

It was like speaking of him had conjured him up because in walked a through and through cowboy. He had on a tight pair of wranglers, a red plaid button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black cowboy hat with a pair of wore in cowboy boots. He had shorter dark brown hair and sky blue eyes. He was muscular but he wasn't massive. She knew he was strong though like guys who worked on farms and rode bulls were. He also had to stand at least six foot five. Christine couldn't get over how attractive he was. Jimmy cleared his throat and Christine snapped her mouth shut which she hadn't notice was open. Jimmy was the first to speak.

"Christine this is Tyler Blackwood, and Tyler this is Christine Lancer. Your boss."

Tyler flashed a big white smile. Christine reached over and stuck out her hand. Tyler took it in his and shook it.

"Howdy miss. It's nice to finally meet the lady in charge I've heard so much about."

Tyler had an accent straight out of Georgia and Christine was melting.

"Well it's nice to meet you too Tyler although I haven't heard anything about you until about a minute and a half ago. You from Georgia?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"You got the accent. I'll leave you boys to get this done. I gotta get unpacked and washed up before I take a nap." Turning around to look at Jimmy she said "Oh yeah I saw that foal in there this morning. When did it get here?"

"Fella brought it over from western Tennessee day before yesterday. Just dropped it off so if we can't do nothing with it we'll have to find somewhere for it."

"Now Uncle Jimmy you know we ain't gonna turn that poor horse out. I'll be working with him starting tomorrow."

Tyler snorted a laugh "Why the hell are you worrying about a lost cause like that?"

Christine turned and walked right up until she was standing so close to him she could feel the heat coming off his body and she was seething. There was one thing that really ticked her off and it was when people talked about horses like that. Christine reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt so fast he didn't have time to react and pulled him down to eye level.

"No horse is a lost cause." She shoved him backwards and he fell on his ass. "If you want to keep your job I suggest you remember that."

Christine didn't wait for a reply and took off back to the house.

Once she got inside she immediately hopped in the shower and washed up. When she got done she walked out in her towel into her bedroom just in time to hear somebody knock on the door. Christine smiled because she knew it was Mary. Hurrying to the door she opened it and the smile left her lips. There stood Tyler the new ranch hand.


	15. Ghost's From The Past

I'm really sorry that it's taking me so long to get these up. There is a lot going on right now and school has been HECTIC. I hope you guys like this and thank you for continuing to read it. Also for the people who left the reviews I love that you guys pay so much attention haha.

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><p>"What do you want?"<p>

Tyler's mouth was hanging open and he was taking her in from head to toe. Christine realized she was still in her towel and dripping wet.

"Hey cowboy, eyes up here." She said pointing at her eyes.

Tyler looked up and his cheeks got red.

"S-Sorry. Jimmy sent me to see if you had the number of the guy from Alabama who sells Longhorn."

"Come on in," she said turning around and walking towards the kitchen. "And shut that door behind you."

She got to the kitchen area and opened the drawer pulling out a black address book. Tyler sat down on the stool on the opposite side of the bar from her.

"You want something to drink?" she asked without looking up.

"Yeah if you don't mind."

"There's a cooler over there in that pile of stuff next to the door."

He got up and walked over to get a drink while she kept flipping through the pages. Her grandpa never put names in here in alphabetic order he had just written them down in the order that he received them which made it really difficult to find anything. Tyler came and took his previous seat drinking a bottle of water.

"So," he said "How come I haven't met you until now?"

She took her eye off the book and looked up at him. His piercing blue eyes stared back at her. Looking back down she answered him.

"I moved out to California for about a week."

"That sounds interesting. Why are you back so soon?"

Avoiding his question she asked "Did you just move here?"

"Yeah the circuit's done for the season. Gotta do something to make some money."

"Where are you staying at?" she asked finally finding the guys number.

She grabbed a pen and piece of paper and started writing it down. She noticed that he hadn't said anything so she stopped and looked up at him. He sighed when he saw her looking at him.

"I've been sleeping in my truck over in town behind the Wal-Mart."

"Well here's that number."

He took it and thanked her for the drink and left. Christine walked back into her room and threw on her clothes which consisted of a Black tank top, a pair of skinny dark washed jeans, and her black knee high boots. Drying her hair and putting it into a high ponytail she put on some mascara and eyeliner. She could see the dark circles under her eyes from not having any sleep. There wasn't any food in the house and she didn't want to ask Mary to go out for her. Since she had been gone something in her had changed and she wasn't scared to go out anymore. Grabbing her bag out of the pile of stuff by the door she headed outside. She could see Jimmy and Tyler loading fence posts into what she supposed was his truck. It was a dark grey Toyota Tundra and it was in really good shape. She knew of course that boys who rode bulls usually didn't use their trucks for work they were just for show. She got in her car and turned it around and headed down the driveway stopping in front of where the two guys were working. They looked up at her and she rolled down her window.

"I'm gonna head to the grocery store. There ain't a thing in that house. I'll see you when I get back."

Jimmy nodded and waved his hand at her and she took off down the driveway.

After stopping at an ATM Christine pulled up outside of the local grocery store. Getting out and locking the doors she started walking across the parking lot. Halfway there a guy on a motorcycle drove past her. She pulled her cell phone out of her bag. She didn't have any new messages or missed calls. She decided to text Jax. She really missed him.

_Hey Jax. I made it home. How are you?_

Christine's buggy was already full and she had gotten everything she needed. She was pulling a box of Spaghetti noodles off a shelf when her phone started ringing. Throwing the box in her buggy she picked up her phone. It was him.

"Hello?" she said.

"_Hey"_

His voice made her heart hurt and she couldn't speak.

"_Christine? Are you there?"_

"Yeah I'm here." She choked out.

"_Look I'm sorry."_

"I'm sorry too. For everything. I miss you… a lot."

She heard him laugh. _"Yeah same here."_

Christine felt someone tap her on her shoulder and she turned around. Christine was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a minute.

"Chris?"

"_Chris? What are you talking about?" _Jax practically screamed into the phone.

There he was standing in front of her. She hadn't laid eyes on him in months but that didn't change the fact that she felt physically sick and her whole body was shaking.

"J-Jax I'm gonna have to call you back."

Without waiting for a reply she hung up on him in mid protest.

"You look good as ever," he said looking her up and down in a possessive way.

Christine felt her anger flare up and she squared her shoulders.

"And you still look like a rapist."

She saw anger flash across his face and she felt her fear come back.

"Why don't you keep your voice down with that shit."

Christine turned around to walk away from him and he caught her arm spinning her around. She tried to pull her arm away from him but he had a death grip on her wrist. He was really hurting her and she knew he was going to leave a bruise. He stepped closer to her and pushed her against the shelves. His face was too close to hers and she turned her face away from him.

"Christine I really miss you," he said in her ear rubbing his other hand on her hip.

"Chris," she whispered. "Please let me go."

She felt his hand clamp down exactly where the bruise on her hip was.

"When you love somebody you don't just throw that away. You still love me don't you? I know you do."

Christine couldn't say anything because if she opened her mouth she would start sobbing. Silent tears were streaming down her face.

"Young man. What are you doing?"

An elderly lady who didn't come up to but about Christine's chin was standing there looking at him waiting for an answer. Chris let go of Christine and took a step back.

"I was just leaving." He said to her. Turning around to look at Christine he added "Remember what I said. I'll see you around."

Then he was gone.

"Are you alright sugar?" The woman asked her.

Christine nodded wiping her face. The lady grabbed a box of something off the shelf and then kept walking. Christine pushed her buggy to the front of the store so she could hurry and leave. If she had a breakdown she didn't want anyone else to see her do it. Her phone kept ringing and she knew that it was Jax but she didn't have time for that she just wanted to leave. The lady who was working the register kept eyeing her warily but Christine ignored her and paid for her food. The whole way across the parking lot to her car she was waiting for him to grab her but he never did. She hurried to put her groceries in the passenger's seat of her car and pushed the buggy over to the cart holder in the next aisle of cars. Once she got into her car she locked the doors and picked up her phone that was still ringing. It was Jax again. She ignored the call and pulled out letting the sobs she had held back in the store out.

When Christine pulled back up at the house she saw Jimmy walking her way. She tried to wipe her tear streaked face but it was no use. She climbed out and when he saw her he rushed over.

"Christine what's the matter?"

Christine fell into his arms and cried harder. He rubbed his hands up and down her back until she calmed down some. She pulled back and wiped off her face.

"I saw him in the grocery store."

Jimmy's body tensed up and his face creased with worry. He knew who she was talking about without having to ask.

"Are you alright? What did he do?"

Christine knew that if she told him what Chris had done he would go hunt him down and he would be the one to end up in jail. So she lied.

"Nothing but just seeing him brought up bad memories."

Christine thought about how he had said he would see her around. She felt panic set in again but had a thought.

"Uncle Jimmy how well do you know Tyler?"

"I know his daddy from back when we did the circuit together. I've known Tyler since he was a kid. Why?"

"Well he told me he had been staying in his truck behind the Wal-Mart so I figure I'll ask him if he wants to stay in the guest bedroom. You know if grandpa was still here he'd tell me to be hospitable."

Jimmy was thinking this over in his head.

"Well I don't see no reason against it. But it's your house so do what you want."

"Where is he at?"

Jimmy looked up towards the trail Christine had ridden on this morning.

"He took Nova for a ride up there on the trail."

"When he gets back will you tell him to come see me at the house?" Jimmy nodded. "I think I'll go get some sleep now. I've been up for about nineteen hours."

She left him standing there and walked back over to her car. Pulling her gun out of the glove compartment and getting the extra bullets out from underneath her seat she stuffed them down in her bag. Grabbing it and the rest of her grocery bags she locked the doors and headed into the house hurrying to put them on the bar. As soon as she was in the quietness of her house though she slid down the cabinets in the kitchen and cried. How could he still do this to her and why couldn't he leave her alone? She thought. The thought of him having the chance to rape her again terrified her. Christine just wanted to feel safe. Thinking of the last time she felt safe she thought about lying in Jax's arms. Picking up her phone out of her bag she called him.

"_Christine? Are you okay?"_

She felt more tears roll down her face and she broke down crying.

"_Christine what's wrong?"_

"I saw him in the grocery store Jax."

Making herself stand up and grabbing a grocery bag she walked to the opposite side of the kitchen to put them away.

"_Are you okay? What happened?"_

"Yeah I'm okay he just grabbed me and pushed me up against the isle shelf things and wouldn't let me leave. Thankfully some lady came by and asked him what he was doing and he left. It was really scary."

"_You need to get your ass back out here." _

She could hear in his voice that he was furious.

"Jax you know I can't do that. I have to fix things here and it's a long way to get from here to you."

She heard him sigh. "_Yeah I know. I found out that there's one of our charters not too far from you in Tennessee. A few of us might be making a delivery up there before long."_

"Really?"

"_Yeah, really."_

Christine was leaning up on her tip toes to slide a few boxes into the top shelf of the cabinet. She turned around to grab another bag and dropped her phone grabbing her chest. Tyler was sitting in one of the stools on the opposite side of the bar. Christine picked her phone back up.

"Jax I'm gonna call you back in a little while okay? The ranch hand just got here."

"_Alright… I miss you Christine."_

Christine heard a few guy's in the background oohing and ahhing and she felt awkward talking to Jax in front of Tyler.

"I miss you too," she whispered and then hung up the phone. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? Have you never heard of knocking?"

"I did knock," he said with a shrug.

She narrowed her eyes at him "How long have you been sitting there?"

"For a pretty good while. Who gave you problems at the grocery store?"

Christine knew that if she didn't tell him that he was going to ask Jimmy or worse tell him what she had said.

"Listen we can discuss that later but the reason I told Jimmy to tell you to come in here was because you shouldn't be sleeping in your truck. It's starting to get colder and I'd feel safer if somebody was here with me at night. Not that you should tell Uncle Jimmy that. So if you want a place to stay there's a guest bedroom back there for you."

A smile broke out on his face.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll take it. I would have took the offer if you would have told me I'd be sharing a stall with one of those horses out there."

Christine laughed. "Well when you get the time bring your stuff on in here and don't say anything to Jimmy like I said. I'll explain that stuff later." After he sat there a minute she looked at him like he was stupid. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Oh yeah," he said laughing and getting up. "Thanks again though," he added before closing the front door behind him.

Christine put up the rest of the groceries and put together some chili and put it in the slow cooker. Tyler would be bringing his stuff in there pretty soon so she walked down the hallway and opened the door to the guest bedroom. It smelled kind of musty since none had been in here in so long. Thinking back on it she didn't think anyone had been in here in three months. The only furniture in the room was a king size bed, a dresser, and a bedside table. Christine pulled the comforter and the sheets off of the bed and walked over to the closet and pulled out a new set. After putting them on she took the ones she had taken off to the clothes hamper in the wash room. The wash room was on the other end of the house in the room right next to the front door. Christine headed for her own room grabbing her bag off the counter on the way. She left the door open so she would know when Tyler came in. Sitting her bag down on the end of her bed she pulled off her boots and threw them over near her closet. Climbing up onto her bed she took her gun and her cell phone and put them on her bedside table and slung her bag in the floor. With a sigh she laid back on her pillows. Her eyes immediately felt heavy. Don't go to sleep she told herself. Just rest your eyes but don't go to sleep.

Christine had been having a nightmare and in it Chris was chasing her down a never ending grocery store isle. But Chris finally grabbed her. Jumping awake Christine felt someone's hand on her shoulder shaking her. Panicking she grabbed her gun off her bedside table and pointed it at the dark figure. The sun had gone down and Christine could just make out the outline of a figure.

"Whoa! Hey it's just me."

Christine reached over and turned the lamp on the table on. Tyler sat there looking back at her. She let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding and put the gun back down on the table.

"You can't do stuff like that. I could have shot you ya know."

"Hey I wasn't even gonna come in here but you've been hollering in your sleep for the past twenty minutes. Just over and over again telling somebody named Chris to stop… So who's Chris?"

Christine felt so embarrassed. "My ex… the guy from the grocery store."

Christine felt cold. She had broken out into a sweat when she was having that nightmare. Navigating her legs around where Tyler was sitting beside her she stood up and walked over to her closet pulling out an old red hoodie and a grey pair of sweatpants. Tyler stood up and walked out in the direction of the living room. Christine pushed the door closed behind him and changed. Once she had gotten herself fixed up she grabbed her cellphone and headed for the kitchen. As soon as she got to the end of the hall she saw Tyler sitting in the bar stool at the end of the bar and all of his stuff was in a pile.

"How long had you been sitting out here?"

Looking at the clock that was on the wall he said "About an hour."

Christine's eyes got big and she felt extremely embarrassed.

"You've just been sitting in here? Just like that?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," she said running a hand over her forehead. "I didn't even mean to fall asleep. Are you hungry?"

"You betcha," he said with a smile and she noticed his dimples for the first time.

Christine walked over to the cabinet and pulled out two white porcelain bowls and carried them over to the crockpot where she spooned chili into them. She pulled two spoons out of a drawer next to the sink and carried them the few steps over to the bar and sat down on the stool beside him. They sat and ate in silence for a while until they both had finished with second helpings.

Christine was standing at the kitchen sink washing the dishes when Tyler struck up conversation.

"So why am I really staying here?"

Christine thought over and answer for a long moment before replying.

"Well, it IS the hospitable thing to do and Jimmy knows you."

She heard him let out a short laugh.

"No I mean the real reason. Not the answer you've got cooked up for everybody else."

She let out a wry sigh and felt her shoulders slump. It was hard for her to believe that nobody had told him what had happened to her, but then maybe nobody was really talking about it like she suspected they were.

"I was in a relationship with a guy named Chris last year. We were together for over a year…" She got quiet mulling over how she was going to bring up the next part. Clearing her throat she continued. "He used to hit me… A lot. My grandpa got diagnosed with cancer right before we got together. He died five months ago and Chris… well he raped me four months ago. He walked away scott free and I got left to deal with the backlash. I'm actually surprised you hadn't heard anything about it," she said turning her head to look at him. "Me being the big liar in town and all." She turned back to the dishes taking her frustration out on them although they were way past clean. "I saw him at the grocery store today… and I guess the rest you heard while I was on the phone. I didn't tell Jax that he said he would see me around though. Which is why I didn't want to stay here alone." She quickly added "I don't think he would be dumb enough to come here though."

She heard him clear his throat. "I'd still like to stay here. Even if it's because you want a body guard," he said with a deep laugh that sent chills up her spine.

Christine finished cleaning up the kitchen over small talk and then showed Tyler to his room and headed to her own.


	16. Unexpected Surprises

Hi guys, I know this one is pretty short but I've been busy. Don't worry though the next chapter is already in progress. I hope you like it. God Bless and have a great day.

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><p>Christine woke up at four a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. After lying restless in her bed tossing back and forth for half an hour she finally decided to just get up. Walking into the main room of the house she walked over to her pile of things that were still where she had left them. After getting all of her dirty clothes into the wash and all of her other things unpacked and into her room she sat down at her desk and made a list for the things she needed to do that day.<p>

-Talk to the guys about the property

-Get things sorted out with school

-Get up to the shop to check on things

-Go to feed store

After getting her list done she hopped in the shower and got ready; donning for a black turtle neck, jeans, and her black heeled boots. Just putting on mascara and curling her hair she headed out the door just as the sky was starting to turn pink. The feed store would definitely be open now. They opened their doors at exactly five every morning. Climbing in her car she headed down the driveway to start her day.

Christine had made it to the feed store and she was now, not so patiently, waiting in the lobby of an office of the guy she had to talk to about the property. She had been sitting there for an hour and a half. She knew that the guy was seeing just how far he could push her around. She wasn't going to give in though. She planned to stay there all day if she had too. The receptionist kept rudely making faces at her along with rolling her eyes. Christine didn't care though. She was sitting there daydreaming about climbing over that desk and hitting the woman in the face when a man walked out of the door that led to his office. He was a little taller than average and had coiffed black hair. Christine wasn't really into designers but she could tell that the grey striped suit he had on didn't come from anywhere around here. He walked up to her with a big smile on his face that didn't quite touch his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Daniel Craig. You must be Christine," he said sticking out a hand. When Christine reached up and shook it he continued. "We have lots to talk about so come on back here and we'll get started."

Something about the man was very off putting to her but she couldn't quite put her finger on it yet. Christine followed him into his office though and he shut the door behind her.

"Have a seat Christine."

Christine walked over to the chair opposite his at the desk and sat down. He made his way around the desk and sat down in his own chair. After crossing his left leg over his right knee he leaned his head on his right arm which was resting on the arm of the chair. He still hadn't stopped smiling though and he looked just as bubbly as ever. It hit Christine what was so off putting about him. He reminded her of a clown that had been in a haunted house when she was a kid. She had been at the fall festival, which they did every year around this time, with her grandpa about five years ago and she had went in the haunted house by herself. When she got halfway through a guy dressed as a clown had grabbed her, which the people working inside weren't supposed to do. Christine had always hated clowns. They creeped her out. After telling her that she was never going to get out and not letting her go the multiple times that she had screamed for him to and he didn't Christine had stomped on his toe and once his grip loosened she had jetted out of the haunted house crying. After she told her grandpa what was wrong he had stormed into the haunted house, and to much upset of the guy working the door, he came dragging the clown out a few minutes later. Her grandpa started yelling at the guy and he had hit him in the mouth. A crowd had started to form and her grandpa hadn't let up. An officer had come over though and after her grandpa had told the man what happened they had hauled the clown off to jail. Christine was pretty sure that this was the same guy. She was too curious not to ask him.

"Mr. Craig, have you ever dressed as a clown before?"

She saw the smile come right off his face and she knew it had been him after all.

"Miss Lancer I will admit that I've done some stupid things in my past but it is what it is; in the past. After I went to prison a year and a half ago I cleaned up my life and now I own a successful business."

Christine just wanted to leave. She was starting to feel even more uncomfortable but she knew that she had to deal with this first.

"Mr. Craig let's just get down to business. All of the property my father told you and the board about doesn't belong to him. It was all left in my name and,"

"Now Miss Lancer," he said interrupting her. "Even if it was left to you you're under the age of eighteen and all your assets legally rolled over to your father until you get of age."

"No that isn't quite true. The fact that I've been emancipated since I was fifteen and I've been taking care of myself, that farm, that shop, and all of our animals since then plays a vital role in all of this."

The man's face looked just like her father's when she had told him the same thing. She had to hold back the sudden urge to burst into laughter. This man was sweating and she knew that he was aware that she had the upper hand.

"Also, every bit of that property has been in my family since before my grandpa had even been born so if you think it's going anywhere you must be out of your mind."

Christine felt her temper starting to get the best of her and she tried to calm herself.

"Oh don't worry Christine; your little piece of land is safe for now. It seems we have a complication that your incompetent father seemed to have forgotten to mention. But let me say this, this small little town needs some money flow coming in and it needs to be updated. All that farm land up there is going to be turned into a big mall complex with lots of restaurant's, new office buildings along with new housing complexes. We really don't give a damn about how long it's been in your family. We're all about the real estate and all that property is going to bring tons of new business."

Christine stood up out of her chair grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"You must be out of your damn mind if you think that's gonna happen. I think we're done here."

She had made it to the door and had it halfway when he spoke again.

"I'll be sure to tell my son you said hello. He'd love to know you're in town."

Christine turned around to look at him with a confused look on her face.

"What?"

"You two used to date. Christopher…? Of course he doesn't have my last name because his mother was arrogant, but he is my son."

Christine felt all the blood run out of her face. Clinging to the door handle for balance she squared her shoulders and laughed.

"I totally get it now."

It was Daniel Craig's turn to look confused.

"Get what?"

"Scum bag must run in your family along with throwing yourself on girls who don't want you. Oh and I've already seen your son in town. At the grocery store as a matter of fact. Tell him if he ever attacks me like that again I'll put a bullet in his head. There's at least 800 acres up there and I damn sure know how to use a shovel. So good day Mr. Craig, I'll be seeing you in court soon."

With that Christine walked out slamming the door so hard the windows in the office rattled.


	17. Down to Business

Hey y'all I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. I had my wisdom teeth and a cyst taken out about a week and a half ago and I've been re-cooperating. That on top of school work that piled up while I was getting better got pretty hectic. I'm really glad to be writing again and I hope y'all like it. God Bless and thanks for reading (:

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><p>Christine was furious that her dad had gotten into bed with this man. But it honestly didn't shock her. He would sell out anybody if it meant him getting ahead. Pulling in at the high school Christine took in a few calming breaths after cutting off the ignition. Whatever was going on she had to fix it fast but getting everything fixed for school had to come first. If she didn't graduate and get to college her grandpa would surely come back and haunt her for the rest of her life. Plus there was no way any of this mess was going to keep her from graduating. Christine got out of the car and walked up to the school on the sidewalk path. It was a two story building that reminded her of an Ivy League school with its old brick building and the ivy growing up the side. It had always given Christine the creeps. It would fit right into a horror film. Anxiety creeping up on her she tightened her grip on her bag. Opening the door to the main building she walked inside. Heat immediately hit her like a hot barrier. Even though it wasn't all that cold outside the school administration had always turned the heat full blast when it got the littlest bit cold. It was enough to make you sick but Christine kept walking down the hallway. Halfway down she walked into the office door on the right hand side. The secretary sitting behind the desk looked up with a smile. Mrs. Thurber, she had always been extremely sweet to Christine. Especially after what happened. Christine had taken to eating lunch in here with the woman. Mrs. Thurber was a heavier middle aged woman with blonde hair and always smelled of peppermint and vanilla.<p>

"Hey Mrs. Thurber," she said smiling.

"Why Christine! I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon. I thought you were going out to California?"

Christine sighed. "Well I did actually. Turns out there's been some trouble and I had to come back."

Christine sat down in the chair behind the desk next to the woman and told her about all that was going on as quickly as she could.

"Oh my goodness you poor thing!" she squealed wrapping her hand around Christine's.

"Well that's why I'm here. I figure I'm gonna be here for a little bit but I don't know exactly how long. I might be going back to California. I kind of met someone I really care about out there. Although it probably seems crazy since I haven't even known him for that long."

She stared off into space thinking about Jax and his little smile he seemed to reserve just for her. The way that she felt when he held her in his arms. She almost felt like she could honestly say she was in love with him. It seemed to be what every fiber of her being was saying.

"You got it bad don't you honey?"

Christine looked up at the kind woman in front of her, realizing she had been watching her.

"I really do. It seems crazy though because… Well because I think I'm in love with him. Even though I've only known him for such a short time."

The older woman reached out and patted Christine on the knee with a smile on her face.

"Christine darling that isn't crazy at all. Mr. Thurber and I got married after only knowing each other for three days. We fell in love so fast but we've been married for thirty four years. It doesn't matter how long you've known someone. When you love them, you love them."

Christine looked into the woman's grey eyes and she knew that she was right. She had to hurry and get all of this stuff sorted out so she could go back to California. Every bone, muscle, and organ in her body seemed to be aching to see Jax again. Looking down at her watch she saw that it was 11:15am. Classes were going to let out at 11:30 and she wanted to avoid Chris at all costs. Seeing his father today was enough. She had to speed this up.

"Well I'm gonna need to do some school work from home for the next two to three weeks. I think me coming here is going to be temporary anyways. So what exactly do I need to do to get that to happen?"

Mrs. Thurber got all Christine's information straightened out in the school's system and printed off four different notes, one for all of Christine's teachers she was supposed to have this semester, and handed them to her.

"Now you're going to have to go see all these teachers and get your assignments from them for the next two weeks. You have to get them done and turned in at the end of every week though. If you need any more time after two weeks just come back and see me."

Standing up she wrapped her arms around the woman's neck and hugged her.

"Thank you Mrs. Thurber," she said pulling back.

Walking out of the office she glanced down at her watch seeing that the bell was going to ring in about two minutes and she didn't want to be standing in the hallway when it did. All of the teacher's classrooms she needed to visit were in the other two buildings so she took a right and headed down the hallway and out the back door. Cold air hit her quick and chilled her through her clothes as soon as she stepped out but she didn't care. Quickening her pace she hurried along the sidewalk to the building off to the left. She could feel her anxiety rising again because she was running out of time before the bell rang. Pulling open the door to the east wing building she hurried inside flying up the staircase to her left. _Just calm down_ she told herself. _You don't even know if he has classes in this building right now._ The thought was comforting and it calmed her slightly. As soon as she got to the top of the stair case she headed down the second floor hallway. Checking the numbers on the classrooms she made it past two doors before she heard the loud sound of the bell. People started pouring out of the classroom and Christine was struggling to get past them. There were also looks from a lot of people and it was making her uncomfortable. She was elbowing by a guy with a huge book bag when someone grabbed her wrist from behind and spun her around. Looking up into Chris's face she could see that he was stoned and his eyes were hanging at half-mast and he was smiling at her.

"See I told you I'd see you around. Did you come here to see me?"

Christine felt her rage that had been building up all day start to flare up. Jerking her wrist out of his hand she turned to continue walking down the hallway only getting a few steps before he grabbed her again. Christine didn't have time to think much less react before he had picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Christine was struggling to get loose but he tightened his grip on her. He was laughing and thought that it was hilarious. Christine didn't find anything about it funny. People were staring and some were even taking pictures with their phones.

"Chris! You put me down right now!"

He started laughing even louder. She really started to panic when she realized he was carrying her down the stairs. Falling down two big flights of stairs really didn't seem like something she wanted to experience so she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. The whole way down she tried to keep herself from throwing up. All the jostling around plus being upside down was really making her sick. Squeezing her eyes closed to help with the motion sickness she started counting backwards from 100. Christine got to around 30 before she was jarred out of concentration. She had almost forgotten where she was. Looking around she saw that she was sitting on the hood of Chris's car in the back of the parking lot. Looking around she also saw that he and her were the only people around. Everyone else had gone to class. Christine tried to get up and walk past him but he stepped in front of her.

"Hey, just relax!" he said.

Letting out an aggravated sigh she said "Chris just let me go, I have things to do and standing out here with you isn't one of them."

"Just sit down!" he yelled.

Christine backed up and sat back down on the hood of the car. She had a gun and if he tried anything she would simply shoot him. _There wasn't any reason to_ worry she told herself. _You aren't that same scared weak little girl anymore. Don't give him the power over you to make you scared._ But it was no use, she was scared. She didn't like being out here with him but she knew that he wasn't going to let her leave unless she listened to him and going to jail for shooting him didn't appeal to her.

"So what is it that you need to say Chris? I don't have all day."

He let out a short laugh but there was no humor behind it.

"You really have changed." He leaned down putting his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. "I really did love you ya know. Still do."

Christine didn't want to hear this. She stood up to take off but he grabbed her hand.

"No sit back down."

"I don't want to hear this!" she said throwing her arms in the air in exasperation. "If you ever really loved me you had a funny way of showing it. Or have you forgotten all about everything you did! Like this." She turned around and pulled her shirt up revealing the scar on her back before turning back around to face him. "Have you forgotten about that? Or how about all the other times you hurt me? Or how about raping me huh? You forget about that Christopher?" He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "We don't have anything to talk about. As far as I'm concerned you don't exist. I'm not gonna be in town for long so just stay away from me."

With that she turned on her heels and headed back up the hill towards the school building. She felt stabbing pains in her lower stomach but kept going not bothering to look back.

Christine had gotten all her assignments from her teachers and made it back to her car without running into Chris again. She had gotten a stack of school work that was unbelievable that was now stacked in the passenger seat beside her. She was on her way back down the road going home. Today had been one long day full of too much drama. All she wanted to do now is go home and get some rest. She'd slept all night but she was so tired. Christine pulled into her driveway and after the long drive down it she pulled up in front of her house. It had gotten dark outside and Christine pulled in behind a car that wasn't supposed to be there. She didn't believe what her eyes were seeing. She saw the black Cadillac roadster but she had to look at the California license plate to fully believe it.


	18. House Guests

I hope y'all like this chapter. Thanks for reading and God Bless.

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><p><em>Gemma? <em>No one else she knew drove a Cadillac Roadster. _What in the world is she doing here?_ The only reason she could think of was if something had happened to Jax. _Oh no, please don't let anything of happened to _him she thought. Christine got out of her car grabbing all of her things and quickly headed towards the house. Her heart was beating fast like humming birds wings from her nerves. Even if something had happened to him though it would be weird for Gemma to be here, because Christine hadn't known them that long. _So see _she told herself. _You have nothing to worry about. _Reaching a shaky hand up to open the door she twisted the knob and walked inside. Tyler was standing in the kitchen behind the counter coffee mug in hand and Gemma sitting on a bar stool. They were having coffee because Christine could smell it as soon as she came in the door. When Gemma had heard the door open she turned around and raised an eyebrow at Christine.

"Hey baby. What took you so long?" she said with a little grin.

"I've been running errands," she said. "Is Jax okay?" she asked making her way across the room.

Christine had tried to keep the panic out of her voice but it had come out anyways.

"Yes, he's alright," she said getting up and coming to hug her. "He and the guys are over there in Tennessee. Club business and all, but he should be here in a few days" she said with a wink.

Christine felt a sigh of relief and a smile crept on her face.

"Well it's good to see you. But how come you're all the way over here?"

Gemma gave her a no nonsense look that said _don't even try to act like nothings been going on._

"Jax told me about what's been happening. Figured you might want some help with things."

It was comforting to have Gemma be there for her, but Christine knew it wouldn't be long before Jax would come. She would love for him to be here too but the thought of him and Chris in the same town was unsettling. She knew Jax could handle his own, but Chris was crazy and if anything happened to Jax she couldn't handle it. Worrying about keeping everyone away from each other, dealing with Chris's dad, taking care of the farm and the shop, and keeping up in school was just way too much for one person to deal with. Trying to keep the feelings of dread away she smiled back at Gemma and put the thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Well, are y'all hungry?"

Without waiting for an answer she sat her stuff down on the table and headed for the kitchen. Tyler put on his cowboy hat that had been sitting on the counter and headed for the door.

"I've got to go do the last feeding for the day" and with that he was gone.

The silence in the kitchen was really starting to make her anxious so she broke it.

"So who's watching over the club if y'all are out here?"

Gemma who was helping Christine cook let out a laugh. "Oh you know Clay stayed behind. The only people who made the run up here were Jax, Opie, Chibs, and Happy, and me of course."

Christine started feeling nauseous again. _Just breathe Christine. _Gemma must have been watching her.

"Baby what's wrong? You're white in the face."

Christine let out a sigh and released the grip on the counter that she had. She hadn't even realized she had been holding it but her knuckles were white.

"I've been feeling sick all day…. But Gemma I haven't been telling Jax everything that's been going on up here. With just the little bit that I did tell him he got so pissed. Today things got even worse and I'm really scared. I could lose all this," she said throwing her hands in the air. She felt tears start streaming down her face. "And I saw Chris in the grocery store a few days ago… That was horrible. He actually shoved me up against the shelves in there, in front of God and everybody else. I tried to get away from him but he wouldn't let me go, and he was basically groping me" she said rubbing her wrist where there was a faint bruise. Gemma was fuming and looked ready to kill someone. "Yeah I know and thank goodness there was a lady in there who walked by. I don't know what he thinks gives him the right to do things like that. It's like he doesn't care that people see him doing these things. Then today I went to meet the guy who's trying to take this all away from me and it turns out that its Chris's dad. The one who attacked me in a haunted house as a kid. Although I didn't know the two were related until today. That bastard actually thought it was funny to bring up his son today; like he thought him raping me was hilarious. After my little meeting with him I went over to the school where I ran into Chris again… He actually had the audacity to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder and carried me outside. In front of everyone in that hallway. People were taking pictures and everything. In case I wasn't already enough of a freak in this town. He starts blabbering about how he had loved me so much and how he still did. It's the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life because if you love someone you don't treat them the way he treated me." Christine felt like she was hyperventilating. She hadn't noticed she was getting so worked up. She made herself calm down and take a deep breath before continuing. "So I'm scared for Jax to come out here. If he does…" she let out a sigh. "Do you see how this could be bad? It's easy for me to just keep it from him. Then he doesn't get involved, but you know his temper better than I do. You know what's going to happen."

Gemma looked at Christine with a look that said _Oh yeah I know._

"Christine, do you remember what I told you last week? About how Jax had to tell you everything or it would never work? It works both ways. I know he has a temper. He got it honest from me and JT, but if you're not honest with him… and he finds out… what do you think's going to happen? You can't just keep all this to yourself either. You don't look good. You look stressed. You can't handle all this on your own. That's why I'm here."

Christine looked over at the woman who had been more of a mother to her in a week than anyone else ever had. "Thanks Gemma."

As Christine was setting the table, Gemma was pouring everyone something to drink, and Tyler was washing up. Christine had a sudden realization. There were four guys coming to stay here and she had no clue where they were going to sleep. Her and Jax could sleep in her room and Tyler was in the guest bedroom. Gemma could sleep in her grandpa's room. But that left three people. One could sleep in the day bed in her grandpa's office. Then there was the pull out couch and the other long couch. Yeah everybody would fit. She let out a little laugh and Gemma and Tyler looked at wondering why she was laughing.

"What's so funny baby?" Gemma asked.

"Oh nothing I was just trying to think where the guys were going to sleep but I figured it out. You can sleep in my grandpa's room. I'll have to go in there and clean it up a bit when we get done eating. Nobody's slept in there or really been in there since he died." Seeing Gemma's face Christine continued, "He didn't die in there. He died at the hospital. I just don't go in there. I figure you can sleep in there, Jax will stay with me, then one of the guys can sleep in the daybed in the office, and there are two couches there," she said pointing to the couches in the living room to her right. "So there shouldn't be a problem for space."

Tyler, who had walked over and sat down at the table, spoke up. "You know I can always sleep out there in the barn loft. There's a bed out there and everything."

"Are you crazy? You know you'd freeze to death out there right? It's getting down into the lower 50s, maybe lower, every night and there isn't any heat. So you can just stay right where I invited you to stay."

"Yeah," Gemma said. "Besides if anybody's going to sleep in the barn loft it'll be Happy. That boy isn't much of a people person but he has a soft spot for animals."

Christine and Gemma started laughing, while Tyler just looked confused. They ate the rest of the meal over small talk and Tyler washed the dishes when they were done, before heading off to bed early. With arms full Christine helped Gemma get her bags out of her car and led her into her grandpa's room.

"I think you packed everything but the kitchen sink," she said laughing.

Gemma looked at her with a little smirk and rolled her eyes.

"Well you never know what you might need when going to stay in the country."

Christine looked around the room that had been deserted for so long. Running her eyes over all the matching walnut furniture. All of her grandpa's stuff still lying in the same place it had been since he had died. His watch along with his ring lying on top of the dresser. Right beside all of the family photos that had been there since she was a kid minus the newer ones of her from school. Her eyes finally making their way to the bed she realized that she needed to change the sheets

"Shit, clean sheets are in Tyler's room. I'll be back."

Leaving Gemma she crossed the hall and opened the door to Tyler's room slowly and walked inside pushing the door closed behind her so the light wouldn't shine in. The last thing she wanted to do was be rude and wake him up. It was dark and her eyes hadn't adjusted but she figured she could find her way to the closet. She had lived there all her life after all. _Please don't sleep naked _she thought. Christine tried to creep as quietly as she could over to the closet without looking over at him and opened the door. It let out a little creaky noise but after sitting there a minute she continued. She pulled some sheets off the front of the shelf but was struggling to grab the comforter that was in the very back. Her fingertips were barely grazing it.

"Here let me help with that," a low voice said in her ear at the same time a hand came up beside her own and grabbed the comforter. Spinning around Christine let out a terrified gasp and fell backwards into the closet. Clothes from hangers were falling down all over her along with boxes that had been stacked up in the right corner.

"Ow!" she squealed as a heavy box hit her in the head.

She could hear Tyler laughing and if it wasn't dark he would see that her face was flushed from embarrassment.

"Okay okay. It isn't that funny, now help me out of here please. I'm stuck!"

"Let me have your hand," he said.

Christine reached her hand out to find his in the dark. Her eyes had somewhat adjusted and she could see an outline of where he was but that was about it. Tyler grabbed on to her right hand and gave her a quick but strong pull. Christine flew out of the closet and knocked right into him. Reaching a hand out to steady herself so that she wouldn't fall into something she noticed he was shirtless and her hand was lying on his bare chest. Feeling her whole body get hot she quickly backed away from him and turned around to the closet.

"Um let me help you get that stuff cleaned up. Do you mind turning on the light?"

"It's really fine, I can clean all that stuff up in the morning."

"Oh okay," she said her voice cracking. "Sorry for waking you up."

Christine bent over in the dark to pick up the sheets she had dropped.

"You didn't wake me up," he said laughing.

Christine heard the bed creak which told her he had lain back down. Picking up the comforter that was now on top of the dresser she turned back towards him.

"So you let me think that you were asleep and let me sneak across this room and you didn't say anything?"

"Yeah," he said laughing. "And it was pretty damn funny too."

"You're an ass!" she said heading for the door.

"Goodnight to you too Christine"

Christine slammed the door on her way out and made her way back across the hall feeling stupid. When entering her grandpa's room she saw that Gemma was standing at his dresser looking at the pictures. Gemma turned to Christine with a photo of her grandpa and her grandma from the early eighties in it.

"You're never gonna believe this. I think Piney knew your grandpa. I'm pretty sure he has pictures of them together from a long time ago."

Christine was extremely confused.

"But how did they know each other if grandpa's lived out here his whole life and Piney lives in California?

"Your grandpa owned a shop here right? Did he own a bike?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah, he had an old 1940 knucklehead that he had restored and he had a Road King that he drove around most of the time," she said.

"I bet that's him that I'm thinking of. Shit it really is a small world," she said putting the picture back down where it was.

_My grandpa knew outlaw bikers? How weird_ she thought.

Christine helped Gemma make up the bed and showed her where everything was. Closing the door behind her she made her way across the hall into her bedroom and quietly closed the door. Picking up her phone off the bedside table and falling backwards onto the bed she called Jax's number. After a few rings it went to voicemail. It was the standard voicemail that comes with your phone.

"_The party you have reached is unavailable at this time. Please leave a message after the beep." _

_*BEEEP*_

Christine let out a sigh. "Hey, it's me. Your mom's here, but I'm sure you already knew that. Um…. Well okay bye."

After she hung up she regretted even leaving a message. She always felt awkward leaving voicemails because she never really knew what to say. Throwing her phone over beside her on the bed she climbed off and changed into her pajama shorts and a tank top. Going into the bathroom she washed her face and brushed her teeth. In the mirror she could see that her face was really pale. She had been feeling sick all day. _But going from the hotness of California to the coolness of the mountains were sure to make anyone sick_ she thought flicking the light in the bathroom off on her way back to her bedroom. Crawling into bed she cut off the lamp and went to sleep.

A gun shot rang out and Christine sat up straight in bed. _What the hell was that _she thought throwing the covers back and crawling out of bed. Picking up her cell phone to look at the time she saw that it was a little after three in the morning. Opening her bedroom door she headed for the kitchen, noticing Tyler walking out of his room and trailing behind her. He had on a pair of grey sweatpants and his work jacket but he was shirtless.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

She nodded but continued walking. As she got closer to the front door she could hear shouting and she increased her pace. Reaching the door she quickly unlocked the deadbolt and pulled open the door. With a gasp she ran outside and down the front porch steps.

"Jimmy! Put down that gun!"


	19. Trouble In Paradise

Hope you guys like the chapter. Thank you for the reviews. If you don't get a reply back its probably because you asked a question that I couldn't answer because it would give the story away. Thank you all again for continuing to read this story. God Bless.

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><p>Christine looked over to her left at Jax and the other guys who were pointing guns back at Jimmy. Christine saw Opie holding his arm and saw blood trickling through his fingers. Running over to him she made him move his hand. The bullet had just grazed him but it was still bleeding pretty badly. Looking around she realized that everyone was still ready to fire at any second.<p>

"Put those guns down!"

No one moved an inch. It was almost like watching two male animals face off on the discovery channel to see who was the bravest.

"PUT THOSE FUCKING GUNS DOWN! Now!" she yelled.

They lowered their guns but still looked angry.

"Opie it only grazed you put I'll have to bandage it up to stop the bleeding."

He nodded at her like it wasn't any big deal, but of course Christine figured he dealt with stuff like this all the time.

"What the hell you doing coming over here this time of night?" he asked them with his gravelly voice.

"Sorry Jimmy," she said before any of the guys could speak up. "I got back late or I would have told you that I had company coming. They came over from Tennessee. They didn't mean to wake you up," she said looking over at the guys angrily.

Christine realized that she wasn't wearing hardly any clothes and it was freezing outside. Crossing her arms over her chest she backed back towards the house putting some room in between her and the guys.

"But Jimmy this is Jax, Opie, Chibs, and Happy. You guys this is Jimmy." Feeling someone put something over her shoulder she turned around to see Tyler. Totally forgetting that he had been standing there. He had given her his coat. "And this is Tyler."

Turning back around she saw Jax staring at the two of them. She saw anger in his eyes but he quickly covered it and walked over to shake Jimmy's hand.

"Jax, and sorry for waking you up. We would have been here earlier but it took us awhile to find this place."

The other guys followed suit and introduced themselves. Christine turned around and handed Tyler his jacket back.

Jimmy finished with introductions then he walked over to his truck and headed back up the hill to his own house. Turning around and looking back at the guys for a brief second she rolled her eyes and then headed for the house.

"Bunch of idiots," she mumbled under her breath.

Tyler was already walking through the door and she headed up onto the porch wiping her feet on the mat. Turning her head a little she saw the guys grabbing their stuff off their bikes and heading her way. Walking inside she left the door open for them and hurried into her room. Grabbing a hoodie out of her closet and putting it on then went into her bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet she looked around for things grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol and peroxide, some antibiotic ointment, medical tape, and gauze. Along with a towel she grabbed as she turned off the light. She headed back out into the living room and stopped at the closet next to the bathroom. Opening the door she grabbed a roll of fishing line and an extremely sharp fishing hook. _Opie probably isn't going to like this very much but it's better than nothing_. When she got in there the guys were just making their way into the house and Happy was closing the front door and locking it back. She was about to speak when Opie was in the middle of looking around and spotted the stuffed bear on the wood beam above their head.

"SHIT!" he yelled and fell backwards into the floor.

Everyone started laughing because they had known it had to have been fake.

"Nice," Happy said with a little grin.

Tyler was getting a glass of water at the kitchen sink and had his back to everyone but Christine could see him shaking with silent laughter. Chibs reached over and helped Opie back up and they all sat their stuff down except for Jax. Jax just stood there with his stuff in his hands looking at her and then looking at Tyler and then back at her. She could tell that he was still mad. Although Christine had no idea why. Choosing to ignore him she got down to business. Walking over to the kitchen table she laid everything down and pushed the sleeves of her hoodie up.

"Well get the hell over here," she said when Opie just stared at her.

The look that he gave the guys before moving had uncertainty written all over it. He came and sat down in the chair next to her with his bleeding arm facing her. The other three guys came and sat down at the table too.

"Now I know I'm not a doctor but you don't have to be a big baby about it," she said. "Do you have a lighter?"

He pulled his zippo out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Now take off your shirt."

He didn't argue and took his shirt off like she asked. Opening the bottle of rubbing alcohol she poured some into the cap and laid it on the table. Taking the fishing hook into her hand she lit the lighter getting it hot so she could kill any bacteria on it and then put it into the cap of alcohol. Getting the towel in her left hand she opened the peroxide and poured it onto his arm making sure to wipe everything so it wouldn't get everywhere. Christine looked at the wound to make sure that it was clean and then poured alcohol on it. Opie flinched a little bit when it first hit it but otherwise didn't say anything.

Getting the fishing line she rolled off a piece that she figured was long enough and then cut it. Pouring more rubbing alcohol on it she wiped it and the fishing hook off and then threaded it. Looking at Opie's arm was starting to make her a little nauseous. She threaded the hook onto the line and then moved towards his arm.

"This is probably gonna hurt, but I don't have anything to stop that."

With that she started to sew up the gaping hole in his arm. When she got finished she tied it off and then cleaned it once more putting some ointment on it to keep it clean. Putting the gauze pad over top of it gently she taped it on and then started cleaning up the mess on the table.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Happy asked.

Christine sighed and grabbed all the stuff on the table standing up.

"Well when hospitals start asking question about how you're getting hurt all the time and you don't want to get hit even more you learn to fix shit yourself."

With that she turned on her heel and headed back to her room putting everything where it needed to go and throwing the rest away before washing her hands. Coming back into the kitchen she stopped leaning on the back of the chair.

"Okay, there's a day bed that one of you can sleep in back there in the office and two of you can sleep out here on the couches. Kitchens right there, and if you're hungry or anything get it because you don't have to ask. Bathroom's the first door on the left right there," she said pointing behind her towards the hall. Turning back around she continued "and there's towels and stuff in there. Don't smoke in my house because I'll kick your ass. Take that shit outside on the porch, but don't go wondering around outside without me or Tyler. This isn't California and there are bears, bob cats, and all kinds of other shit that will eat you. Don't fuck with the horses either because most of them are rescues that have been abused and they're not used to people or they're scared of people."

With that she turned and walked down the hall and into Tyler's room opening the closet and pulling out two comforters, two pillows, and two sheets. Carrying them back into the living room she walked over to the couch and started making up beds for two of the guys.

"Oh and you'll want to be quiet because Gemma is in there sleeping and I'm going back to bed and if you wake me up again I might have to kick your ass. So who's sleeping in the office?"

The guys looked at each other and Happy made a move for it but Chibs grabbed him and spoke up.

"Oh no you don't jackass. I've got seniority and I'm taking the bed."

Christine started laughing. "Come on," she said leading the way down the hall.

Once in the office she showed Chibs where everything was and left him to get some situated closing the door behind her. Tyler passed her on the way out and she told him goodnight. Jax was heading her way and she hollered down the hallway to Opie and Happy.

"Goodnight guys," and walked into her room.

Christine walked over to her closet and took her hoodie off and hung it back up. Walking over to her bed she saw Jax out of the corner of her eye coming in and shutting the door behind him.

"Bathroom is in there," she said nodding towards the bathroom door.

Pulling back the covers she climbed up into the bed and pulled the covers up and lay down. Her eyes were closed but she heard Jax go onto the bathroom and start up the shower. Leaning over she turned the lamp off and lay back down.

Christine hadn't been able to fall asleep before Jax got out. She heard him turn the water off and then she heard him moving around in the bathroom. She knew she was going to have to sit down and talk to him about everything going on so that there wasn't any drama, but she was conflicted as to whether or not she should do it tonight or not. She hadn't seen him since she left and she didn't want to make the first night horrible but then again if she kept it from him any longer he might actually get pissed. Jax came out of the bathroom in just a pair of boxers cutting the light in the bathroom off leaving the room in complete darkness. _Just tell him. Tell him before it gets any later. _Christine felt the bed move next to her as he laid down and she didn't know if she had the nerve to say anything. _Tell him Christine. Tell him right now._

"Jax I have to tell you something," she quickly whispered before she really did lose her nerve.

"You're sleeping with that kid aren't you?" he said in a cold distant voice.

"What?... No! Wait, is that why you were looking at me like that out there?" she asked rolling over to face him.

"Well I don't know how I was looking at you but it sure as hell looked like you two were awful comfortable with each other."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, just never mind."

Christine thought about this a moment and then smiled when the answer came to her.

"You're jealous! Aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked trying to sound indifferent.

Christine sat up then climbed over on top of him and straddled him.

"You Jackson Teller are jealous, but I have a secret for you. I have a type now."

Resting his hands on her thighs he laughed. "Oh you do, do you?"

"Yes I do."

"Well Christine Lancer, what's your type?" he asked mocking her tone.

Bringing one hand up to her chin to look like she was thinking she said "Well, I'm into blondes. Especially blondes with blue grey eyes. My type has to have a sexy body, and tattoos are really a turn on. Hmm, let's see… Oh!" she said leaning down to whisper in his ear. "They have to drive a motorcycle…. Yea, because that's hot."

Jax grabbed ahold of her and then rolled them both over until he was now on top of her but in between her legs.

"Really?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," she said smiling.

Jax started tickling her. "Really?"

"No!" she said trying not to laugh.

He tickled her even harder. "Really?"

Christine busted out laughing. "Yes really. Okay okay stop," she said gasping for air.

Jax leaned down and kissed her. Christine had missed this. It seemed funny to her how a few days had felt like years without him around. Jax pulled back and then buried his face in her neck.

"I missed you," he mumbled.

Christine ran her fingers up and down the back of his neck. It wasn't long at all before his breathing had gotten slow and even which told her that he had fallen asleep.

"I missed you too," she whispered.

Christine woke up and her room was extremely bright. The sunlight was coming in through the windows. Going to move she realized she was lying on top of Jax. Figuring that he was still asleep she tried not to wake him when she slowly tried to move off of him. When she was almost all the way off of him she felt his arms wrap around her locking her in place and felt his laughter vibrating both of them. Raising her head up to look at him she saw that he was smiling down at her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Oh I don't know. About an hour or an hour and a half."

Christine's jaw dropped. "What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Just laying here."

"You should have just woke me up you know," she said before leaning up to kiss him.

Jax moved his hands up to her face and kissed her harder. Christine reluctantly pulled away and hurried to get off the bed before he could pull her back. She wondered if anybody else was awake. She had stuff to do and it would be rude to stay in here all day. Glancing over at the clock she saw that it was eleven a.m. Turning around she walked over to the dresser to grab her jeans.

"So what did you have to tell me last night?" Jax asked throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

Christine's hand froze halfway to the drawer handle. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. Her heart started to race and she felt hot. Reaching out she pulled the drawer out and shuffled through the clothes inside looking for a pair of jeans.

"We should just talk about it later," she said.

All of her braveness from last night seemed to have disappeared. Finding the pair of jeans she wanted she pulled them out and grabbed a plain white V-neck t-shirt out of the drawer throwing them over her shoulder. Pushing the drawer closed she walked over to the bed throwing her clothes down beside him. Looking over at him with his confused facial expression and his tousled bed hair she smiled. He was so adorable.

"No just go ahead and tell me now."

She couldn't keep this from him but the thought of telling him terrified her. She knew Jax would kill Chris. But she knew that if she didn't tell him he would be pissed if he found out from someone else.

"Jax the only way I'm going to tell you is if you promise not to do anything stupid and overreact. I honestly wasn't going to tell you but I know that you need to know everything that's going on."

She saw a grave look come over his face which told her he was expecting the worst.

"Well what the hell's going on?" he asked.

Her eyes fell on his guns that were in the gun holster lying on the table on his side of the bed. Letting out a sigh she focused her attention back on him.

"Well there's a lot going on here. It's going to get a lot worse and I know that and I'll deal with it when it does. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get involved, but do you remember when I told you about seeing Chris in the grocery store?"

She saw anger flare up into his eyes and saw his body tense.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well I didn't tell you everything and I haven't told you about seeing him yesterday. But I haven't talked to you since then so I couldn't really tell you about it."

Christine was talking extremely too fast and Jax reached out a hand to grab her hand pulling her over to him until she was standing between his legs.

"Just slow down and tell me what happened," he said putting his hands on her hips.

"I saw him in the grocery store like I told you. When I was on the phone with you somebody came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. So I turned around to see who it was and it was him. He was looking at me up and down and making me feel uncomfortable but anyways we had words and then I tried to walk away from him but he grabbed me by the wrist and wouldn't let me go," she said absentmindedly rubbing her wrist, until Jax looked down and saw what she was doing.

Jax grabbed her arm and looked at the bruises that were starting to disappear. She didn't think she had ever seen so much anger in a person before. Not even in Chris when he used to get angry and hit her.

Christine continued trying to get his attention off of it, "He pushed me up against the shelves in there. I asked him to let me go but he wouldn't and then he was rubbing his hand over my hip. He grabbed me right where that bruise from the pool is at. But he kept babbling on about how he had missed me and asking me if I still loved him. Then he said how he knew I still did. Some psychobabble about how you can't just throw love like that away. That little old lady came by then, God Bless her, and Chris let me go. When he was leaving he said that he would see me later. I knew what he was insinuating because I had called him a rapist which really pissed him off. But that's what all happened that day."

Christine couldn't quite read Jax's face and all she wanted was for him to tell her what he was thinking.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked without meeting her eye.

"I had to go get my school stuff situated yesterday and I ran into him in the hallway."

Christine backed away from him and walked back over to her pile of clothes and pulled off her t-shirt and night shorts walking them over and throwing them in the clothes basket in her closet. On her way back over she saw Jax watching her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're avoiding the subject. What happened at the school?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh Christine put her hands on her hips. "That idiot picked me up in front of everybody in that damn hall, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me outside. But I swear he's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because he was acting the complete opposite than at the store. He was stoned, but still. He was going on about how he loved me and how he had always loved me. But that just pissed me off so I told that you don't treat someone you love that way and that I didn't want to see him anymore. That was it and I didn't want to tell you because I knew what you would do, and that can't happen because it turns out Chris's dad is the one trying to take everything away from me" she said with tears coming to her eyes. "Nobody would like to hurt Chris more than me, but if it means losing everything my grandpa worked so hard to save then it's not worth it."

Christine turned her back on him so he wouldn't see her cry. She heard the bed move behind her and then felt his warm strong hands grab her waist from behind.

"You should have just fucking told me," he said angrily in her ear and then he let her go, grabbing his bag off the floor and heading into the bathroom.

Christine felt pissed off that he had overreacted like that and she didn't want to still be in here when he came back out of the bathroom. He really did have a bad temper. Hurrying to pull on her jeans and t-shirt she couldn't get the iciness in his voice out of her head. She had figured he would be a little mad but he seemed way past that. Pulling on her cowboy boots and throwing her hair in a ponytail she grabbed a hoodie out of her closet and threw it over her arm, and put her cellphone in her pocket and headed towards the kitchen closing the door on her way out.

As soon as Christine was out in the hallway the smell of coffee, bacon, and pancakes hit her. Coming around the corner into the kitchen she saw Gemma cooking. Chibs, Opie, and Happy were sitting at the table eating their already made plates. Tyler was probably already out at the barn. Stopping in front of the fridge Christine pulled it open.

"Good morning baby, you hungry?" Gemma asked.

Grabbing a bottle of water and shut it back heading for the door.

"No thank you I feel kind of nauseous actually."

Christine had almost made it to the door when Gemma called back to her.

"Christine what's going on?" she asked.

As soon as the words had left Gemma's mouth Jax appeared from the hallway. He still had that icy façade.

"Ask your son."

With that Christine pulled open the front door and slammed it shut behind her with a loud bang.


	20. Rowdy Rides

Thank you for reading and thanks for the reviews. I do appreciate them. God Bless.

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><p>Walking out onto the porch Christine had to squint for a minute because the sun was so bright but she would manage. There was no way she was going back in there to get her sunglasses. Making her way over to the barn she kicked at the gravel in the driveway. Christine decided right then that she wanted to go riding. Just to get away from everything and relax. Walking in to the barn she almost ran right into Tyler who had Ghost and Whiskey by the reins leading them out of the barn her way.<p>

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. Are you going riding?"

"Yeah I was gonna take these two up the trail."

"Here I'll take my horse," she said taking the reins from him. "Seems like Ghost has taken to you real well."

He nodded. "Yeah I didn't think he was going to at first. He bucked up on me a few times but he hasn't anymore."

They walked the horses up the driveway a little ways and were in between the cars and the pond when Christine heard the front door open and close. Looking around the horse she saw that Gemma and Jax had come outside.

"I can't deal with this shit right now," she said.

"What?" Tyler asked.

She nodded in the direction of the porch and Chris looked. "Oh."

"Yeah," Christine said.

Christine pulled herself up onto Whiskey and looked back at Chris.

"Race you up to the creek… That is if you can keep up cowboy."

Christine got Whiskey to take off and she was flying up the trail in seconds with Tyler right on her tail.

When Christine got to the creek she navigated Whiskey across it to the little island in the middle. It was a pretty big patch of grass in the middle. Big enough at least to let the horses graze for a while. Hopping off of her horse she let him roam on his own and sat down on the big rock that was over next to the water. Tyler had just made it up to the creek and was trying to get Ghost to cross. Ghost had been up here before but he was hesitating and looked like he was going throw Tyler. Hurrying to stand up she pulled her phone out of her pocket and threw it in the grass and made her way across the creek. Whiskey would stay where she left him but she was going to get wet. Treading through the water she finally made it over to Tyler and Ghost but was soaked up to her thighs. Ghost was trying to buck but Tyler was doing his best to keep him still.

"Throw me the reins!" she hollered up at him.

He looked at her incredulously. "Are you crazy?"

"Tyler just trust me!" she said meeting his eye.

Tyler threw her the reins and she grabbed them pulling down hard so Ghost would be still.

"Easy boy… Just calm down. Whoa! Hey be easy."

Ghost was starting to calm down and he had stopped trying to resist.

"Just sit tight," she said to Tyler who was about to hop off. "Come on boy," she said pulling on Ghost's reins and leading him across the creek. "See, nothing's going to hurt you."

They had made it halfway across without any issues.

"I heard you were good with horses, but I didn't believe it. You really are though."

"Thanks," she said smiling up at him.

Christine's boot came down on a rock wrong and she stumbled falling into the cold creek water. She felt the water go up her nose and hurried to stand herself back up but couldn't. The current was pulling her and the water was making her clothes feel like they weighed twice as much as they did. She was really starting to panic when she felt arms reach underneath her and lift her up. She immediately went into a coughing frenzy.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he sat her down on the rock she had been sitting on.

"Yeah I'm alright," she said. Her throat burned but she was alright. Looking around she saw Ghost over on the other side of the creek where they had started. He was pacing back and forth. Christine started laughing and threw her hands up.

"That horse has got a mind of his own sometimes."

"That horse is a pain in the ass sometimes," he corrected.

"He's been through a lot so don't be mean."

Tyler sat down in the grass in front of her leaning back on his arms. "He's just a horse you know."

"Do you even know what happened to him?"

Tyler shook his head back and forth.

"Have you even read the papers on any of the horses we have?"

"No. I just do as I'm told."

"Well maybe you should. Ghost was beat up real bad when we got him. He had so many cuts and bruises on him he didn't really even look white. He belonged to a hard ass that was real big into physical punishment. That's why he's so skittish." Pulling her hoodie off she saw that her shirt was still soaking wet along with everything else she was wearing. The water had made it where her bra was kind of see through and she felt her cheeks get hot. She continued, "We better get back. I don't want to be sick."

Standing up and grabbing her phone off the ground she walked over to Whiskey and pulled herself up. Walking him over to Tyler she stuck out her hand.

"What?"

"Get on and I'll take you across the river."

"I can walk."

"Don't be a stubborn ass. I've dealt with one too many already today."

Grabbing her hand he pulled himself up behind her. Christine felt sort of awkward being so close to him. She could feel the heat from his body on her back and where his legs were touching her. Getting across the creek and to the other side she got Whiskey to stop and Tyler hopped off. He walked slowly over to Ghost and grabbed his reins and started walking back towards the trail. Christine started laughing.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Walking him back. Do you think I'm getting back on him after that?"

"You're joking right? She asked him.

"No."

Christine sighed and hopped off of Whiskey handing Tyler the reins.

"Here give me those," she said snatching Ghost's reins out of his hand. "Swear I've never seen such silliness."

Christine hopped up on Ghost and he took off before she had gotten all the way on him. She almost dropped her phone and her hoodie but she held on tight. He was going way too fast but they were making their way down the trail. Christine just maneuvered him and tried to get him to slow his pace.

Ghost still hadn't slowed and they had left Tyler and Whiskey in the dust. Christine could see the house and the barn now. She didn't know where he was going to go if she couldn't get him to stop. She could see Opie and Happy standing near their bikes and they were watching her with concerned looks on their faces.

"WOAH!" she yelled pulling back on the reins.

She was passing the guys now and almost at the barn and she just knew he was going to run into it. Christine jerked back as hard as she could on the reins. Ghost bucked up into the air and almost threw her off but she held on.

"ONE OF Y'ALL GO FIND JIMMY! NOW!" she yelled at the guys.

Opie and Happy ran past her and into the barn. He was still bucking and Christine wouldn't be able to hold on for long. Letting the reins go she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Come on Ghost calm down please. Easy boy, easy. Whoa…," she said near his ear.

Ghost started to calm down and was almost at ease when Jimmy came running out of the barn and grabbed the reins. Christine jumped down off of the horse and rubbed up and down his nose and between his eyes, but he was still trying to get away.

"Uncle Jimmy something's wrong with him. I've never seen him act like this before. Anything happen to him yesterday?"

"No. But there was a car down in here last night. Right before them boys got here. Only seen it leaving though. Don't expect you had any other company did you?"

"No, I didn't," she said before taking off into the barn.

Making her way over to Ghost's stall she opened the door and walked inside looking around for something out of place. She didn't really see anything until she looked at his water bucket. There was some sort of white residue in it.

"Jimmy!" she yelled. "Call the vet!"

Christine hurried out of the stall to look at the other horses. Only two other horses had it in their water. It was Duke and Cheyenne. Christine was terrified. If anything happened to her grandpa's horse or Cheyenne and the baby she was carrying she didn't know if she could handle it. Duke was pacing restlessly around his stall but Cheyenne was lying down in the hay in the corner of her own stall.

Jimmy came out of the office and walked over to where she was sitting in the hay beside Cheyenne rubbing her hand up and down her face and down her neck.

"Dr. Adams will be out here in about fifteen minutes. From what I told him he thinks that its steroids."

Christine looked up at him confused. "Steroids? Who in the hell would want to do something like that?"

The image of Daniel Craig floated into her mind.

"Jimmy what kind of car did it look like?"

"Looked like a BMW from the back to me."

Christine stood up and walked out of the stall heading towards the house. She was beyond mad. It was one thing to mess with her but to mess with her horses was another.

"Now Christine where are you going," Jimmy asked coming up behind her.

"I've got to go see a man about a horse," she said not even turning around. "Stay here and make sure that vet checks those horses out good and get Tyler to clean out every single pen from top to bottom. If anything happens call me."

With that she left him standing there and headed for the house. Opie and Happy were sitting on the steps of the porch and Chibs and Gemma were standing on the porch over near the door. They were all watching her and when she got closer she spoke.

"Move!" she told Opie and Happy.

They got up fast and moved out of her way and Christine passed Gemma and Chibs without a word going into the house. She didn't even worry about closing the front door behind her. She quickly walked down the hallway and into her room where Jax was lying on the bed. Slamming the door behind her she headed for her closet.

"Christine…"

"Not now!" she said throwing her hand up at him. She pulled off her wet t-shirt and jeans and left them lying in the floor. Moving over to the dresser she pulled out another pair of clothes and a pair of dry panties and a bra. Throwing them down on the bed she pulled off her wet bra and panties and ignored Jax's staring and pulled on her new clothes. Walking back across the room and into her closet she grabbed a pair of sneakers and sat down in the bottom of her closet to pull them on. Standing up she walked to her side of the bed and grabbed her gun and keys, and then her phone that was still in the pocket of her other jeans.

"Christine what's going on?" Jax asked standing up with a concerned look on his face.

She walked over to him leaning up on her toes and kissed him hard.

"I have to go do something and I need you to stay here."

With that she headed back out of her bedroom with her gun in her hand. Gemma who was standing next to the kitchen table grabbed her purse which was sitting on it.

"I'm coming with you."

"Suit yourself."

Christine headed back out the front door which was still open and headed towards her car with Gemma right behind her. She heard her tell Jax to stay there and he didn't argue. She could see Jimmy heading towards her.

"Christine where the hell do you think you're going with that?"

Christine stopped in front of her car door and looked at him, "I'm going to see the man who did that to the horses."

Everybody was standing around watching her now. Jax and the guys were on the porch. Tyler was right behind Jimmy and Gemma was on the passenger side of the car climbing in.

"Girl you take your ass right back in that house. You know I can't let you go do something crazy!" Jimmy said.

"That's the thing Jimmy you're not 'letting' me do anything. Now go on back to the damn barn and watch the horses!"

Climbing into the car she slung the gun up on top of the dash and cranked the car. Revving the engine she slung it into reverse and took off flying in reverse turning the car around. Then she slung it into drive and took off down the drive way gravel flying.

On the way down the road Christine was still fuming. Gemma pulled her own little gun out of her bag and made sure it was loaded.

"Gemma why did you come with me? You know you could get in trouble."

"Yeah, but baby I wasn't letting you come alone."

Pulling into the office Christine saw the BMW sitting over on the side of the building. She knew she had seen that car. She pulled the car into a parking space and slung it into park leaving the car running. Grabbing the gun off the dash she opened the car door and stepped out. Gemma followed suit and they headed inside with Christine leading the way. The secretary saw that Christine was heading towards Daniel's office door and she stood up.

"You can't go in there without an appointment!"

Gemma raised the gun that was in her hand and pointed it at the woman.

"Bitch sit down and shut up."

Christine reached down grabbing the door handle to his office and slung it open and stepped inside.


	21. Taking Things Into Her Own Hands

Hi everybody, thanks for the reviews. I love reading them and I love knowing that you're paying attention! I did write this one a little different than I have been I think. I tried to be more descriptive with the writing. I'm trying to get better at writing, but thank you for reading. I hope y'all like it. God Bless.

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><p>Daniel Craig looked up in surprise when he saw Christine bursting into his office. He quickly covered it with a false façade of a calm demeanor and flashed a big bleached smile at her. Christine moved quickly into his office not wasting any time and walked around his desk to stand right next to him. He looked up at her and then looked down at the gun in her hands and let out a loud belly laugh. Christine was startled at first that this man could laugh at her but then she felt the anger rise back up. It was pissing her off even more for this man to think she was a joke. She lifted the gun up to his temple and smiled at him.<p>

"Do you think something's funny Mr. Craig?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

He smiled up at her. "Child, you're playing a very grown up game but I honestly don't think you have the guts. Look at you, already shaking in your boots," he said looking at her hand that was shaking. "I bet that gun's all for show and isn't even loaded."

In the blink of an eye Christine had turned the gun to the set of three pictures on the man's desk letting off three shots. Shooting all three in the matter of seconds and knocking them off the desk. She heard the secretary scream but turned her gun back on Daniel putting it in its previous position. Daniel Craig was scared. She could read the fear in his eyes, but she wouldn't laugh. There wouldn't be any satisfaction until she got her point across.

"It's funny isn't it how people think because you're young or you were raped that you're some helpless thing that can't take care of itself. Well I'm not that girl." Leaning down closer to his ear she continued "Daniel, let me make myself really clear, and I want you to make sure you hear everything I'm about to say because I'm only going to say it once. You mess with me, the people I care about, and that includes my animals, or anybody else I might know and I'll kill you dead. If I see you back on my property I'll kill you. You may think I'm a child but you better heed my warning like you would any other adult. I know you're not going to back out of trying to take the farm and the rest of my land away from me because you're way too cocky. But you know what they say about men who try to over compensate," she said moving the gun down until it was pointed right over his crotch.

She saw him really start to panic. In one swift movement she let out a shot in his right leg. Immediately he cried out in pain holding his leg where it was bleeding. Christine knew she hadn't hurt him too bad, but it had been bad enough to get a point across.

"That's for having and raising a son that's a scum bag just like you. It doesn't feel nice for someone to physically hurt you does it?"

In another swift motion she shot him in his left leg. Daniel let out another groan of pain and tears rolled out of his eyes.

"That was for doing something to my horses."

She moved the gun back over his crotch.

"Please no, don't shoot me again."

Letting out a wry laugh she stood up and moved to sit on the desk in front of him.

"That's the funny thing. You take away a man's legs and he has a brave face but you go for his dick and he cries like a little pussy. You don't look so tough now. Don't think about reporting this to the cops or telling anyone about my visit. I'm pretty sure it would be bad for business if everyone found out what you're really doing in here, don't you think?" she asked pulling out his top desk drawer. Lying right in the front was a smaller square mirror that still had coke all over it. "You might want to learn to clean your nose when you get done doing that," she said pointing the gun at his nose.

"Yeah yeah," he said hurriedly.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, but you have a good day," she said standing up.

Taking a step towards him she swung her arm around and bringing the butt of her gun into his nose letting out a bone crunching blow. Turning on her heel she grabbed the bullets out of the floor that had hit the pictures and wiped her shirt over the door handle. _No evidence, no proof _she thought. _Where have I heard that before?_ Walking over to the secretary Christine looked over at Gemma who was communicating silently wondering if she was okay. Nodding her head she reached out forcefully grabbing the secretary by the throat. The woman's eyes widened in shock and she started whimpering.

"Please don't kill me. I didn't do anything. Please don't kill me!"

"Shut up and listen!" Christine said pulling the gun around to point at the girl. "You don't tell a soul what happened here. If he tries to tell anyone you deny it and then leave. Leave town, leave the country, I don't give a damn. Because I can promise you that whatever he may do to you won't hold a candle to me. See I've already experienced what the men in his family can dish out and it ain't shit. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded and Christine let go of her throat stepping back. Without a word she turned and headed for the door. Pausing to let Gemma by she wiped the handles off on the last door and headed for her car.

"What are you doing?" Gemma asked when she popped her trunk and headed towards the rear of her car. Christine just shook her head at her with a look that said _don't ask. _Christine pulled out a hunting knife that her grandpa had always made her carry around and the crowbar that was tucked beside her spare tire. The sound of her shoes hitting the pavement was the only sound she heard as she headed towards Daniel Craig's silver BMW. Throwing the knife down next to the car she reared back and shattered the windshield with the crowbar. Over and over again she hit the car breaking and knocking out every window in it. After she had busted out the taillights and knocked off the side mirrors she picked up the knife and sliced all four of the tires. Her skin felt like it was electrified. Taking out her frustrations had made her tired but it was also accompanied with pride that she had took matters into her own hands instead of letting it go. She would not be run over anymore. If everyone wanted to play hardball, well hardball it was.

The drive back home was peaceful. Gemma had offered to drive and was absentmindedly going through the songs on a mixed cd.

"You know, you have pretty decent taste in music. Some of this shit is from the seventies. The hippy days," she said throwing a quick smirk Christine's way.

Christine saw the grocery store coming up and figured they better stop.

"We better get something for dinner. If we come back empty handed I'm pretty sure we're gonna have way too many angry guys to even deal with."

Walking through the grocery store Christine was in search of the items they needed. They had come up with a game plan when they had first come in that it was going to be steak, potatoes, and salad for dinner. They had already gotten everything for the salad but still had steak to get and Gemma had taken off to find potatoes and steak sauce to speed things up. The thought suddenly came to her that she hadn't seen Mary and the kids since she'd gotten back. Pulling out her cellphone she called Jimmy.

"_Hello,"_ he said angrily answering after two rings.

"Hey Uncle Jimmy. Look I know you're probably still mad at me," she hurried before he could say anything. "But listen, I'm cooking tonight. So you and Mary and the kids come on down in a little bit alright? I haven't seen them since before I left for California."

She heard him groan. "Alright. We'll be there."

Saying the goodbyes she got off the phone and headed for the meat section. Getting to the end of the isle she almost ran into Gemma who placed everything in the buggy.

"What else do we need?" she asked looking around.

"Well," Christine said. "We need to get about twenty steaks, just to be on the safe side, because Jimmy and his family are coming to dinner. After that I think we have everything."

"Well you run over and get that and I'll take the buggy and get some beer."

Pulling up at the house she could see Jimmy's truck was already there along with Tyler's truck, Gemma's car, and the guys bikes. It made Christine happy to see everybody around here. Family had always been important to her. Getting out of the car Christine tucked her gun into the back of her waistband and pulled her shirt down over it. Getting to the trunk her and Gemma grabbed all the bags and headed for the house.

Halfway to the porch the door opened and out ran Scotty and Britney. They were three and a half and were twins. Both had light brown hair and big brown eyes. A big smile broke out on her face as they came running down the porch steps chanting "Christine Christine" in unison.

"Hey rugrats, have you two been good since I been gone?"

"Yeah," Scotty said smiling.

"Cept for when he broke my dolls head off," Britney pouted.

Christine held back a laugh "Well that wasn't very nice." Extending out two smaller bags that she was holding she asked "Will you two carry these two bags in for me please."

They took the bags from her and turned around heading for the house. Christine and Gemma followed them inside laughing. As soon as they were through the door Mary was hurrying over to help them get everything over to the kitchen. Mary had light brown hair just like her kids but with a few pieces of gray in it and those big brown eyes. Scotty and Britney really looked just like her. Her hair was in a single braid down her back which was her usual style and she had on blue dress with a white cardigan. Looking over Christine could see all the guys even Tyler and Jimmy sitting at the dining room table playing cards. After getting everything put on the counter Christine gave Mary a hug.

"I missed you guys," she said scooping Scotty up who had been running in circles around her.

He let out a little laugh and buried his face in her shoulder. Britney was in the living room coloring at the coffee table being quiet off to herself. She was the calmer of the two whereas Scotty was hyper and rowdy. Walking him over and sitting him down in one of the bar stools she spun him around to face her. Looking at him more closely she saw something red and sticky all over his mouth.

"Ew, what's that red stuff on your mouth?" she said laughing.

Scotty looked over at the table pointing towards Jax and smiled.

"He gave me some candy."

Jax looked up and met her eyes for a brief moment and she smiled a little smile at him. He smirked and then gave her a little wink before looking back down at his cards. A deep feeling in her stomach told her that she really did love him. Not a lot of guys would take the time to be sweet to a kid but Jax had. Snapping out of her thoughts she saw that Mary was handing her a wet napkin. Taking it she wiped off Scotty's face. Giving him a kiss on the forehead she sat him back down in the floor and he took off immediately running over to the living room with his sister.

Gemma, Mary, and Christine had gotten all the food prepared. They guys had long since stopped playing cards and were moving around doing this and that. Jimmy and Tyler had went out to light the grill, Happy was setting the table for everyone, and Opie and Chibs were occupying the kids. They really seemed to get a kick out of Chib's accent. Gemma was chopping up everything for the salad and talking to Mary who was chopping up the potatoes and frying them in a pan. Christine was loading the steaks up to take outside when she felt arms slip around her waist.

"I'm sorry," Jax said quietly in her ear.

Feeling his breath on her neck sent cold chills down her back. Turning around in his arms she looked up at him.

"Me too."

Jax reached up to cup his hands on either side of her face and leaned down to deeply kiss her. Her hands reached up to grab his hoodie in her fists underneath his cut. Every time she kissed him she just got lost in it forgetting where she was. This time was no different. Her skin was tingling all over and she felt hot.

"Ewww! Aunt Christine's kissing a boy!" Britney squealed.

Jax pulled back resting his forehead on hers. They both laughed as they stared into each other's eyes. Jax let her go and grabbed the steaks off the counter heading outside to give them to Jimmy and Tyler leaving her standing there red faced and smiling.

Twenty minutes later they all sat at the kitchen table finishing up dinner with one another. Christine looked around at everyone who was in the middle of conversation laughing and enjoying each other's company. Jimmy was sitting to her left of her at the head of the table and he had been pretty quiet. He hadn't even tried to speak to her since she had gotten back today. As a matter of fact he hadn't really even looked at her.

"Uncle Jimmy," she said.

He didn't look up at her he just said "hmm?" and kept on eating.

"What did the vet say about the horses?"

Dropping his fork with a clatter and wiping his mouth with his napkin he finally looked up at her. Anger was evident in his eyes.

"You sure you care? Because you sure as hell didn't stick around to find out," he spat angrily.

"Jimmy!" hissed Mary from the opposite side of the table across from Christine.

Christine looked at the woman and then looked to the left of her at the two kids who were staring clueless at everyone. She felt childlike as well, being scolded like this in front of everyone. Realizing that all the chatter had stopped Christine felt her face get hot. The only sound now was everyone eating their food.

"You know damn well I care," she said quietly looking down at her plate.

Feeling her anger flare up she tried to make herself calm down.

"Well then why don't you act like it instead of acting like a fucking idiot?"

"Jimm-"

"No! Why don't you go ahead and tell us where you were today instead of here where you needed to be."

Slamming her fist down on the table she looked over at him with anger flaring in her eyes.

"You wanna know where I was today? I was doing something that I should have done a long time ago. Don't sit at my kitchen table and try to treat me like a child. You've got no right."

Standing up she grabbed her plate and walked over to the kitchen throwing it in the sink before heading towards the front door.

"Aunt Christine!" Scotty yelled.

Stopping in her tracks she turned around to look at him.

"Yeah Scotty?"

"Where are you going?" he asked walking over to her and throwing his hands up so she would pick him up.

Reaching down she lifted him up onto her hip.

"I'm going out to see the horses," she said softer this time.

"Can I come with you?" he asked laying his head on her shoulder.

"Me too!" Britney yelled running over and grabbing onto her leg.

She let out a short laugh. "It's okay with me but ask your momma."

They turned to look at Mary and the sound of 'Please Please Please' rang out through the room. Mary nodded letting them know that it was okay. Christine stared at the floor too embarrassed to meet anyone's eye.

"But y'all stay with Christine. Don't go running off."

Grabbing Britney's hand they set off out the front door towards the barn.

"What happened to the little horse?" Britney asked playing absentmindedly with one of her pigtails.

Christine was holding her up so that she could see over the stall door. Keeping an eye on Scotty, who was feeding carrots to all the other horses who were sticking their heads out of the stall doors at him, she explained what happened as best as she could.

"Well someone burned him with fire."

"Why?"

"To be mean."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"That poor horsey!"

Looking over at Scotty again she smiled. He was holding an armful of carrots that were way too heavy for him and every time the horse's lips would touch his hand he giggled and looked over at her.

"You two wanna ride Whiskey?"

"Yeah!" they said in unison.

Christine had gotten Whiskey out of his stall, and tacked him up, taking him and the two kids out into the circle pen that was in the pasture. Helping them up onto the horse she led them around in a circle over and over again. It never ceased to amaze her how the simplest things could keep a child happy and occupied. Everything was so simple for them. There weren't any bills or drama to deal with. They simply just lived. It made her long for the days when she was child. Having to deal with everything that she was at the moment, it just simply seemed unfair at times. _Life isn't fair though_ she thought _so quit whining and feeling sorry for yourself_. Christine caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Mary walking towards her. She let out a sigh and pulled the horse to a halt.

"Hey," she said without looking over at the woman.

"Hey… all that in there… well you know Jim's just worried about you. That's why he gets so worked up. After he found out what happened to you at the beginning of the year… well he never wanted to see anything else happen to you. All he wants to do is protect you."

Looking over at the woman she could see that she was sincere as always, but Christine was tired of people trying to protect her.

"I'm not a kid anymore Mary. Yeah I'm younger and yeah things have happened to me, but people can't just protect me forever. All this stuff going on, Jimmy can't be a part of it. No look at me," she said when the woman looked away. "This isn't just some little thing. I'm dealing with dangerous people. They're trying to take all this away from me. They want to make this into some big mall complex. It's all about money and real estate to them. Our family, your kids," she said looking over at them sitting on the back of the horse talking and playing with Whiskey's mane. "They don't care about any of it! The man who's trying to take its name is Daniel Craig. He's Chris's dad."

Mary's face seemed to pale. "Oh honey," she said grabbing Christine's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I'm gonna handle it you know."

"Whatever you do, be careful Christine," she said walking over and helping the kids down. "I think it's time for bed for you two. It's been a long day."

After giving them hugs Christine watched as Mary took the children and disappeared back through the barn. Christine heard the rumble of Jimmy's truck and then heard it fade off into the distance.


	22. Real Reunions

Just a warning, this chapter is rated R haha. So yeah, that's the warning. Thank you all for continuing to read this. It's kind of shocking that all of you are still interested. Thank you for the reviews. God Bless.

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><p>Christine was looking down at the ground from her place in the two story loft. Feet dangling beneath her she looked out over the darkened farm. Over the years she had always loved to come sit up here in the barn loft. You could open the door and have one of the prettiest views. Leaning her head back she stared at the stars and breathed in the fresh air. It had gotten extremely cold outside and she hadn't brought a jacket with her when she stormed out. Just the thought of how Jimmy had yelled at her in front of everyone was getting her upset again. Yeah, Jimmy had taken on more of a parenting roll since her grandpa died, and he had scolded her a few times over the years. It had never been like that though. What he did tonight had taken her by surprise and pissed her off. Catching a glimpse of something moving down below her she turned to look down and she saw Chibs walking outside lighting up and smoking. Taking a leisurely pace he walked over towards the bikes then walked a little ways towards the pond. Christine could see the smoke mingling with the cold night air and watched as he threw his cigarette down and then headed for the barn. <em>What's he doing in the barn?<em> She wondered. Standing up she dusted off her butt and closed the loft door. Walking towards the stairs she passed the old iron post bed that had been there forever and a dresser. Making her way down the stairs and over towards the horses. Chibs was leaning on the stall door that belonged to the little foal.

"You know if I was a bear you would already be eaten."

He let out a short laugh. "No if you were a bear you would have been dead. I knew you were there, just like I know you were sitting up there in the loft watching me walk around." Turning and seeing her face he laughed again. "Do you really think that we don't watch our backs? We may be reckless sometimes but we're not stupid."

Christine walked over beside him and leaned on the stall door too. The little foal was watching them nervously from the corner out of one eye. Christine walked over to the storage room and got some carrots before coming back.

"Excuse me," she said to Chibs who moved out of her way.

Stepping into the stall the foal made a little noise in protest while Chibs assumed his previous position. Christine walked a little bit closer sticking out one of the carrots in her hand. After a few minutes of goading the horse chose to come get the carrot, but when he turned his body around Chibs scared Christine and the horse.

"Jesus Christ!"

The horse went back to his corner neighing in protest and Christine put the carrots in his feed bucket before walking out of the stall.

"Yeah, I know. His previous owner doused him in gasoline and then sat him on fire. He's only a little over a year old now. All that's healed up, so that tells you that it happened to him when he was only a few months old. That's usually what we do here is try to rehabilitate horses."

"So you think you can help this one?"

"Plan on it. He just has to learn that not everyone is an asshole. He'll look like that forever but he'll be alright though. Scars are just tattoos with stories," she said thinking of her own scar on her back.

"What?" Chibs asked absentmindedly running his hand over the scar on his face.

Christine had been lost in thought watching him but quickly spoke.

"That's what Jax told me the first time he ever knew about the scar on my back."

"Yeah I saw that the night of the barbeque."

Changing the subject she continued. "Jax said Gemma told his brother that when they were younger."

"Thomas."

"Was that his name?"

"Yeah," he said more to himself rather than to her. He stood up and turned to truly look at her. "We better get back to the house. It's cold as hell out here and you're shivering."

Chibs took off the blue zip up jacket he was wearing and held it up for her. Christine slid her arms into it and zipped it up. They left the barn, Christine pulling the door shut behind them, and then walked to the house.

Walking in with Chibs behind her she saw Gemma sitting on the couch with her glasses on reading on of the books from the coffee table.

"Hey baby," she said before looking back down at the book.

Happy and Opie who were sitting at the dining room table nodded at her before continuing with their card game. Chibs went and sat down at the table with them and Christine headed for her bedroom. The door was open and walking in she could see Jax on the other side of the room on his cellphone. With his back to her he didn't notice her come in.

"Yeah, we'll be back in two days."

Christine walked over and climbed up on the bed and lay back on the pillows. He still hadn't noticed her.

"No, I don't think she's coming back with us. She's determined to stay here with Christine. Which I don't disagree with."

Christine felt awkward sitting here listening to his conversation and thought about reaching over to touch him but decided against it. She knew what happened when people scared her and she didn't see Jax's gun's lying on either of the tables.

"Yeah we dropped them off. Johnson's supposed to be getting in touch."

Jax turned around to grab his bottle of beer off the table on the other side of the bed and his eyes flickered over to where she was lying. His eyes did a double take with his eyes but otherwise he didn't look shocked at all. _Maybe I'm the only one that freaks out _she thought.

"Alright I'll tell them," he said turning around to lean up against her desk.

Jax kept staring at her as he drank his beer and talked on the phone. No matter how many times she looked at him his eyes were still on her. Feeling her face get hot Christine looked down and picked at her fingernails trying to avoid his gaze. _Maybe he's drunk and that's why he's staring _she thought laughing inwardly.

"Yeah alright. Yeah we'll handle it."

Christine heard him close his phone so she looked over at him. His eyes were still on her and she laughed out loud.

"What are you staring at?"

"Come here," he said gesturing with a nod of his head for her to come over.

His face was a mask of seriousness.

"Why?" she asked trying to hide a smile.

"Just come here."

"Are you drunk?" she asked laughing.

He laughed in return and turned the bottle back up to his mouth.

"It takes a lot more than a few beers to get me drunk…. Come here," he said more seriously this time.

Christine could hear lust in his voice but she also found it in his eyes. Christine got up on her knees and moved over to his side of the bed. Looking up at him with heavy eyes she smiled.

"Come here," she said wagging her finger at him.

Jax pushed up off the dresser and walked over to her. He looked down at her and then laughed.

"Whose jacket is this?"

"Chibs."

Christine could only imagine what she looked like. His coat swallowed her and felt like a tent. Reaching down she unzipped the coat and pulled it off throwing it over onto her desk. Moving in a little closer to Jax she stuck her hands underneath his shirt into the top of his waistband. He quickly pulled away from her.

"Shit your hands are cold."

Christine tried to look at him as serious as she could manage. "Come back over here."

Jax walked away from her and she felt rejected at first but then realized what he was doing. He was shutting her door and locking it before coming back over to the bed. Christine thought about everybody being just in the next room and felt awkward at the thought of them hearing anything. Getting off the bed and going over to the dresser she turned on her stereo and turned on the cd that was inside. The sound of Staind's 'Outside' filled the room and she turned it up loud before turning around to face him. Jax had already taken off his jacket and laying his holster on the table. Pulling off his t-shirt when she turned she watched him for a second. Christine pulled off her t-shirt and jeans throwing them on the floor somewhere near the end of the bed. Jax was standing on the other side of the bed in his boxers staring at her smiling. Crawling up on to the bed she walked over on her knees again. Being on the bed she could look him eye to eye without having to look up. Grabbing the waist band of his boxers she pulled him over to her until their bodies were touching in as many places as possible. Jax's hand's found the back of her neck pulling her into a hard forceful kiss, his tongue entangling with her own. The taste of beer was what she tasted. Jax ran his fingers down her back ever so gently leaving a trail of what felt like fire. The song ended leaving nothing but the sound of their breathing to envelop the room. The cd went to the next soundtrack. Audioslave's 'I Am The Highway' started playing. His lips were making a trail down her jaw and on to her neck. Christine let out a quiet groan when he got to her collarbone, letting her head fall back into his hand. Lower he went and she could feel her heart starting to race frantically along with her breathing. Jax's face came back up and so did his hands. Fingers tracing their way back up her back. Putting her hands on either side of his face she brought his mouth back down on hers and kissed him. Taking the clasp of her bra in his hands, she felt him unclasp it and felt the fabric release her. Pulling back she bit his bottom lip and then leaned back in. Jax pulled away making his way down her neck again. He traveled even lower this time. Christine felt her back tense up as he took her left breast into his mouth. Grabbing onto his upper arms she gasped.

"Jax," she whispered breathlessly.

'_And all these days I spend away, I'll make up for this I swear. I need your love to hold me up, When it's all too much to bear,' _rang out through the room blocking out her voice. Jax's hands made their way down to her butt and then he was picking her up. Christine wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders burying her face in his neck. Kissing his neck she heard him groan. Laying her down on the bed he stood back up and pulled off her panties throwing them on the floor. She watched as he took off his boxers looking for something on the floor in the process. He came back up with a condom in his hand. Taking in the muscular form of his body, as he opened the condom and put it on, she couldn't help but think of how lucky she was. The throbbing in between her legs seemed to intensify at the thought. Jax looked up almost as if he somehow knew what was happening. He smiled at her before climbing onto the bed pushing her legs apart with his knees. Leaning towards her on his arms he kissed her tenderly. Christine's eyes fluttered closed as she put her hands on either side of his face leaning up to kiss him more forcefully. Not bothering to open her eyes she felt him move all his weight to one arm and then felt his other hand brush her thigh and Christine's eyes popped back open. Jax broke their kiss and stared into her eyes to delve her reaction as he guided himself into her. With her hands still on either side of his face she just stared back and felt her eyelids briefly close as he pushed himself all the way inside of her as far as he could go. The Cult's 'Painted on Your Heart' started to play and she could tell that Jax was keeping rhythm easily and slowly to the beginning of the song. When the chorus started and hit a hard note Jax thrust into her and Christine quickly threw her hand of her mouth closing her eyes trying to quiet the loud moan that was escaping her lips. Jax who had still been watching her took both her hands entwining her fingers with his own and pinned them above her head before thrusting into her again. Christine turned her head to the side closing her eyes again. This time Christine's moan rang out loudly through the room as her hands tightened on Jax's at the intensity of what she was feeling. Jax bent down to kiss her neck making his way up to her mouth slowing his pace.

Jax and Christine's bodies were extremely close. Jax was still leaning on his arms but his face was right next to hers and his mouth was next to her ear. She could hear his labored breathing along with the groans and she could feel the heat on her neck as his breath touched her. He thrust hard into her over and over again and if anyone could hear them she didn't care at all. It was like being with him in this way made her oblivious to anything that she would be self-conscious about. Even Prince's Purple Rain that was blaring didn't faze her. _I love you_, she thought. But she felt Jax's whole body tense up underneath her hands and her legs before he raised himself up to look at her. _Oh my gosh! Did I just say that out loud? _Christine looked over at the pillows too embarrassed to even meet his eye. She already knew that she had and she knew what he must be thinking. Jax probably thought she was a nutcase for blurting that out to someone she had just met, but he surprised her when he reached up grabbing her chin forcing her to look him in the eye. His gaze was so intense it almost frightened her, but she could see he was searching her eyes to see if she had truthfully meant it or if she had just said it because they were having sex. Christine stared right back waiting for him to come to a conclusion_._ She saw the resolve come across his face and his eyes seemed to get even more intense than they already were. She could feel her legs quivering. Not sure whether it was from the suspense of how he would react, but Jax merely ran his hand up her neck and into her hair before kissing her harder and deeper than he ever had before.

Christine woke up groggily. Something was agitating her but she wasn't awake enough yet to figure out what it was. Stretching her arms up above her head and letting out a groan as her muscles stretched out and then relaxed again she cracked open an eye; Her body felt sore and worn out. Trying to swallow she realized why she must have woken up, her mouth was dry and she could barely swallow. Her room was completely dark and everything in the house was quiet. She didn't remember Jax turning off the lights or the music. She must have fallen asleep as soon as they had gotten done. Slowly sitting up she realized Jax's arm was draped across her waist and they were both still naked. It was freezing and they were under the covers. Christine couldn't understand why the house felt so cold. Gently lifting Jax's arm and moving it off of her she got down off the bed. The hardwood underneath her feet felt like ice which added to the goose bumps that were already coming up all over her skin. _How fucking cold is it in here?_ She thought shocked. Walking around the room she was looking for her clothes that she had pulled off but couldn't find them. Rummaging through the big pile at the end of the bed she found Jax's hoodie and pulled it on zipping it all the way up and pulling the hood over her head. Not seeing any pants she walked over to her closet feeling blindly in the dark for a pair of sweat pants. Feeling something that felt like a pair she pulled them off the hanger and pulled them on then put her feet in the pair of bedroom slippers that were next to the closet door. They were moose slippers that she had had forever but they cut out the coldness. Walking over to her bedroom door she quietly unlocked it and pulled it open. It was even colder out in the hallway. Getting over to the thermostat at the end of the hall she turned the heat up. After entering the kitchen she pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water not bothering to close the door before opening the bottle and chugging half of it down. Light was pouring out over the living room and taking a look around she could see her breath. It would take the heating unit a good while to heat up the whole house. Looking over at the fireplace she shut the fridge door putting the bottle of water in her jacket pocket and walked over navigating around everything trying not to wake the guys up. Striking one of the matches from on top of the mantel she looked in the fireplace and it was empty. Her eyes traveling over to the wood holder she saw that it was empty too.

'Shit,' she mumbled to herself.

She was going to have to go out to the wood pile and get some. Blowing out the match and throwing it inside the fireplace she made her way back to the kitchen pulling out a drawer to grab the big metal flashlight stashed inside. After pressing the button to make sure it worked it let out a beam brightening the kitchen. Clicking it back off Christine walked over to the front door but as she went to unlock it she realized that everybody had left it unlocked before going to bed. Pulling it open she stopped a minute waiting to see if the sound had woken anybody up. After counting to twenty in her head she walked out onto the porch closing the door behind her. The first thing that caught her eye was that the light was on in the barn. It wasn't the big lights in the horse area but it looked like the office light. Not bothering to turn on the flashlight she quietly started towards the barn. Half way there she got the thought that maybe she shouldn't be going out here by herself, with only a flashlight, in hardly any clothes, with moose slippers on. But she was almost there now and she could hit someone with the flashlight if she needed to, besides one of the guys had probably just forgotten to turn off the light. Daniel wouldn't be stupid enough to come down here again. Having that explanation calmed her nerves. Walking into the barn she walked past the sleeping horses towards the office. She could hear her feet making a quiet swish swish sound. It was the only sound she could hear other than the few little sounds the horses were giving off. Getting almost to the door a arm reached out and grabbed her by the throat and shoved her up against the wall. Christine couldn't breathe so she looked up panicking only to find the face of Tyler.


	23. Problems, Problems, and more Problems

Hey y'all, I know this one is pretty short but I figured I'd put it up anyways. Most of your guesses were wrong this time around haha. I enjoy that you're getting involved with the story though so thank you for the reviews and thank you for still reading. God bless and have a wonderful day. 

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><p>Tyler's grip was so tight that Christine panicked dropping the big metal flashlight to the concrete floor with a clatter. The sound of a horse letting out an annoyed neigh was heard but that was it. Grabbing onto his arm she squeezed trying to get him to release the pressure. Tyler was looking at her but it didn't seem like he could really see her. As soon as Tyler made out the face underneath the jacket hood he let go of her throat. Christine immediately bent at the waist with her hands on her knees and fell into a coughing fit sucking in big gasps of air.<p>

"Fuck, Christine are you okay?"

Christine was still coughing but holding onto his arm scared that she was going to fall in the floor. The feeling of passing out was starting to go away and so were the spots she was seeing. Tyler scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the office sitting her down on top of the desk. After getting the coughing to stop and drinking some of the water from the bottle in her pocket Christine looked up at Tyler, who was bending over and watching her making sure she wasn't about to croak, and gave him her best glare.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know who was out here in the middle of the night and I figured it was whoever messed with the horses. Is your neck okay?" he asked grabbing her chin in his warm strong hands lifting her chin.

He ran the fingers of his other hand gently over her neck as though he could take away the hurt he had just inflicted. Pulling her legs up underneath her she sat Indian style.

"Yeah. What are you doing out here though?"

"I came to keep an eye on the horses."

She scoffed "I can tell when people are lying Tyler and besides nobody in their right mind would come out here and it this damn cold. What were you really doing out here?"

He looked at the floor and cleared his throat before speaking.

"My bedrooms right next to yours and…. I couldn't sleep."

Christine felt her face get hot as she trained her gaze on the floor. Tyler had heard her and Jax and she felt like she was going to die from embarrassment.

"Oh gosh I…"

Tyler interrupted her throwing his hands up, "Hey you don't have to explain. What you do with your boyfriend is your own business," he said smirking at her.

Christine reached out and punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up!" she said with a short laugh.

_Are Jax and I a couple _she wondered? Pushing the thought out of her head she looked back up at Tyler who was still standing in front of her. Christine was starting to get even colder than before and remembered she didn't have a bra on so she crossed her arms. This seemed to do the opposite of what she wanted drawing his attention. She went to speak but Tyler interrupted her with a fit of laughter. He had a deep laugh but it was boyish in a cute way. Looking at him she could imagine exactly what he looked like as a child.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

Trying to compose himself he cleared his throat.

"You wouldn't have had to worry if I actually had been someone else. They would have laughed themselves to death at that!" he said pointing to her slippers before he reached back up to examine her neck again making sure that no bruises hadn't decided to pop up while he was distracted.

"Don't laugh at my shoes," she said with a pout.

Tyler smiled down at her and Christine could smell the cologne he wore and she could also smell whiskey on his breath. His fingers moved up her throat to rest on her chin. Christine felt her breath catch in the back of her throat as his thumb traced over her bottom lip. The way he was staring at her was making her feel hot and his face was so close to hers. She could tell that he was moving in closer.

Christine cleared her throat as she turned her face away from him before pushing him away and hopping down off the desk.

"I better get back to the house."

It was evident in Tyler's eyes that he was regretting what just happened but Christine could also see that he was drunk too. He nodded and ran his hand down his face over the top of his mouth. He almost looked bewildered at what he had just done. Walking back through the barn Christine bent to pick up the flashlight that she had dropped and headed back outside to the side of the barn. It didn't take her very long to grab a big armful of wood after she stuffed the flashlight into her pocket. It was extremely hard for her to see around it though because it was stacked so high in her arms. Carefully Christine made her way back to the house being sure not to trip. Thoughts of Tyler entered her mind on the way back. Tyler was attractive, maybe even extremely sexy, but that had just been too crazy for her liking. She wasn't going to hold it against him. There had been nights where she had gotten drunk and done stupid things, so she understood, but nothing like that could happen again. Quietly pushing open the front door and trying not to drop anything she walked into the dark house and then closed the door behind her. Navigating back around the living room furniture she sat the wood down in the wood holder beside the fireplace before putting a few pieces in. Stuffing a piece of paper underneath them she lit it with a match waiting until the flame had started to consume most of the wood. The house was still just as cold as when Christine had went outside, and she could now see with help from the fire that Opie and Happy were bawled up on the couch. Everybody in the house must be freezing. Getting up she crept down the hallway into Tyler's empty room to get out five quilts that were in the top of the closet. Carrying them in the same way she carried the wood she headed into the hall and eased opened the door to the office. She could see the outline of where Chibs was laying. Putting down all the blankets she picked up the one on top and walked over to the bed. Unfolding it quietly she leaned over and spread the blanket on him. Chibs moved so fast that Christine didn't have time to explain before he had pointed his gun at her.

"Ch-Chibs it's just me, Christine," she whispered. After he didn't lower his gun she explained. "The heat hasn't been on so I was bringing you an extra blanket," she said pointing at the blanket she had dropped.

"Sorry," he said putting the gun back down under his pillow.

Christine turned around wide eyed picking up the other blankets heading for the door.

"Thank you," she heard him say before she had closed the door behind her.

_Well I guess I'm not the only one who does that_ she thought. _But I should really try to stop because being on the other end of it is terrifying! _

Covering up Gemma proved to be eventless thankfully. Gemma just slept right through it, but Christine had to wonder how Gemma could sleep through someone putting a blanket over her but woke up as soon as her phone rang. _It's the Life _she thought. Being around all the drama her whole life made her that way when phone calls in the middle of the night usually meant that something bad has happened. Christine covered up Jax who, just like Gemma, was knocked out and didn't even stir. Opie thanked her in a sleepy voice before going right back to sleep and Happy mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over. All she could do was smile. Being around all these people was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Walking around to the other side of the coffee table she sat down in front of the fire pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her head on top. Her eyes felt heavy as she sat there and watched the fire crackle and pop.

The sound of the fridge being opened awakened Christine a little bit but not enough to fully wake her up and she fell back to sleep .

Christine heard her name which startled her awake. Cracking open her eyes she realized she was laying on the floor curled up in a ball.

"Well where the hell did she go?" Jax asked.

"I don't know baby, did you look outside?" Gemma said.

Christine could hear someone picking up the coffee pot.

"Not yet."

Christine sat up the stiffness and pain shooting up her back. She lifted up her arms into the air and stretched letting out a groan. Gemma laughed and Christine pushed herself up off the floor.

"We didn't even see you but did you sleep there all night?"

Christine still felt tired and sore so she merely nodded and headed towards her room scratching her stomach and trying to keep her eyes open. Walking into her room she made a b line for the bed falling on top of the covers covering her head with a pillow. _How in the world did I fall asleep in there?_ She wondered. Of course she had been really tired, but she didn't even remember lying down in the floor. Christine felt someone run their hand up her thigh to her hip. Jax.

"Christine," he said shaking her.

The only answer that she gave him was a groan.

"Your phones been going off all morning, so I answered it. It was the high school and they said it was important."

The wave of nausea hit Christine out of the blue, and so quickly that she almost didn't have time to make it to the bathroom; as she threw the pillow over her face pushing past Jax and running into the bathroom she shoved the door closed and locked it. Throwing up was something that she couldn't stand to do, but throw up she did. When she finally got everything out of her stomach she laid her head on the cool white tiles that made up the bathroom floor. The sounds of Jax knocking and asking if she was okay floated through the door but it sounded like she was in a tunnel. Pushing herself up off the floor proved to be difficult when spots started to swim in front of her eyes. Especially when everything went black.


	24. Shock

Sorry it took me so long to get this up y'all. I do have another chapter already written, I'm just revising it. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for the reviews.

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><p>Christine was being jostled around and she could faintly hear people talking but she didn't want to open her eyes. Exhaustion was making it hard for her to stay awake and the dizziness had returned full force. <em>What happened?<em> She wondered.

"Make sure you have that held on there tight enough."

"I got it mom just watch where you're going."

_What? _She thought as she struggled to sit up, finally cracking her eyes open and wincing from the brightness.

"Hey just relax and lay back," Jax said holding her down in his lap.

Looking around the best she could she saw that she was laying in the back of the cutlass and Jax was pressing something into her head at her right temple. Gemma was driving her car and from what she could see they were flying down the road.

"Wh-," Christine stopped and cleared her throat swallowing past the dryness in her mouth. "What's going on?" she asked looking up into Jax's eyes.

Fear was written all over his face and it seemed odd to her and displaced. Jax never looked scared and it was starting to sink in that something was truly wrong.

"Christine you hit your head on the side of the bathtub and its bad."

Feeling loopy and dizzy she laughed and tried to sit up. There was no way this was happening to her right now. But she was pushed back down again by Jax.

"Let me up Jax I'm fine!" she said trying again.

"No, lay back…" Jax pushed her back down harder this time and then yelled "Christine! Lay down and stop!"

She gave up her struggle and settled down in his lap.

"This is the second towel I've had to use on your head. The first one is drenched through with blood. Mom's trying to get us to the hospital so just relax we'll be there soon."

Staring up at the roof of the car she saw that things were starting to look blurry. It was getting harder and harder for her to focus. The car came to a halt almost rolling her into the floor but Jax quickly made sure she wasn't going anywhere before relaxing. Gemma opened the driver's door and disappeared in a flash without a word. The car got extremely quiet but glancing down she saw that she was still in Jax's blue zip up jacket, her sweatpants, and her moose slippers.

"Oh gosh!"

"What's the matter?" he asked looking her over to make sure nothing was happening.

"I don't have a bra on" she whispered. Pulling the sweats away from her body she looked down. "Or panties," she grumbled.

Jax laughed with a sigh of relief at her breaking the seriousness for a moment. Leaning down he kissed her and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Everything's gonna be okay."

The moment was quickly interrupted by Gemma pulling the passenger side door open. Trailing behind her were two nurses who were pushing a wheelchair. Christine inwardly groaned at the thought of being poked and prodded. Hospitals freaked her out. Not only did they seem to always ask too many questions but people came to die there. At least that's what happened to her grandpa and it had traumatized her. Everyone was helping her out of the car and Jax was trying his best to keep the towel pressed to her head as she was lowered into a wheelchair. A serious wave of dizziness came down over her making her feel as though she was going to pass out again. Gripping the arm rests on the wheelchair until her knuckles turned white, she waited for it to pass. She saw spots but it went away once she made herself get completely still and taking deep breaths. Looking up at the big hospital she felt the panic bubble up inside of her.

Eight and a half hours later she was finally done with all the testing they had put her through and was lying in a hospital bed. She'd had a cat scan, had blood taken for tests, had to pee in a cup, had her throat swabbed, had stitches put in her head, and had a blood transfusion because she had lost so much blood her lips had started to turn blue. Through all of this they wouldn't let her go to sleep because apparently she had a concussion to top it all off. All she wanted to do was go home but the doctor hadn't been in to see her since they had stuck her in the room and the nurses hadn't let Jax or Gemma in. Nervously picking at the blanket that was covering her legs she looked around the room for the hundredth time before sighing and laying her head back into the pillows. She felt miserable and thoughts of her grandpa and how he looked kept creeping into her mind. He had looked so pitiful that last day. Christine had sat there and held his hand for a week straight never leaving his side. He had lost so much weight though that he didn't even look like himself. Shaking her head to shake the thoughts out she grabbed the remote that was attached to the bed and turned on the little TV that was on a metal bar attached to the wall. There were only about twenty channels and she flipped mindlessly through them five times before settling on a reality show that didn't look remotely interesting. Turning the volume down low she threw the remote down and pressed the button on her headboard. It made a buzzing sound and a light turned on.

"_I'll be there in just a minute Miss Lancer." _the nurse's voice said crackling through the tiny speaker next to her ear.

It wasn't very long at all before a middle aged nurse who had no doubt been on the night shift as well came strolling in Christine's room with a clipboard in her hand.

"What can I do for you?" she asked sweetly.

"Um…" she said picking at the blanket again. "I just want to get home so do you know when the doctor is supposed to be coming in?"

"He's speaking with another patient next door but you're next on his list. Can I get you anything while you wait?"

"No I'll be fine. Thanks though."

The nurse patted her hand being gentle so as not to mess with the IV that was stuck in the top of Christine's hand pumping fluids into her.

"We'll take care of you sweetie," she said before walking out.

The doctor came walking in five minutes after the nurse had left. Christine quickly sat up straight and waited for word that she could leave. The doctor had all grey hair and looked to be in his fifties. Keeping his eyes down on the clipboard for minute he read over some things then looked up at her stretching out his hand. She took it and shook it and then the doctor got down to business.

"Well Miss Lancer, it looks like you've just got a stomach bug which is the cause of the vomiting. It's been going around and we've had a few cases in here. The weather gets cold and everybody seems to get sick," he said with a little chuckle. Your fainting spell seems to have come from you straining as you vomited. Does that usually happen?"

"Yeah I get dizzy if I get sick."

"MmHmm, well everything else looks fine. We've got you all stitched up and you're in the clear for the concussion. The blood fusion went fine, although you may feel a little offbeat for a few days. Mainly though it's just the stomach bug, but with your condition you'll have to stay warm, get some rest, and eat right so you can get over this cold quickly."

"So I get to leave now?" She asked getting excited. It took Christine a minute before she realized what the doctor had just said to her. She lifted an eyebrow at him "Wait, what 'condition'?"

The doctor looked at her confused for a moment and then looked back down at the clipboard and back at her.

"Miss Lancer, you're pregnant… Did you not know?"

Christine's eyes got so big that they felt like they were going to pop out of her head, but that was the only reaction she could muster up. She was in pure shock. There was no way she was pregnant. The last time she had had sex with Chris was when he raped her which was four months ago, and if she was four months pregnant she would be big by now. Jax on the other hand was recent but they had used protection every time. This didn't make since to her and she was hyperventilating.

"Miss Lancer are you alright? Calm down and take deep slow breaths."

Christine laid her head back onto the pillows holding on to the side of the bed tightly and made herself breathe slowly. All her sex encounters with Jax were playing through her head as she counted out long breaths. _In 1 2 3 _ There was the first time at the club and they had used protection. _Out 1 2 3 _After that… _THE HOTEL! Oh gosh! I was drunk and I don't think Jax used anything. At least I don't remember him using anything. In 1 2 3 _ The only other time after that was last night back at her house. _Out 1 2 3 _Christine got her breathing under control and then looked back over at the doctor.

"I didn't even know… I-"

She started to cry because she couldn't even believe what was happening. Wiping the tears off her face and trying to calm down she asked the doctor if she could leave now and he nodded but made a point of telling her that she needed to rest for the next few days, stay hydrated, and to take care of herself.

"A nurse will be in here to help you get changed and then she'll take you out in a wheel chair. Is there someone here to drive you home?"

She merely nodded at him and he walked out closing the door. A nurse came in and took the IV out of her arm, helped her back into her clothes, and then sat her down in the wheelchair. Silent tears fell the entire time and when the nurse asked her if it was because of her head she lied nodding in agreement. How was she supposed to tell Jax about this? Hell she didn't even know what her and Jax were. Would he tell her to get an abortion? Christine was terrified. She didn't believe in that and even if she did she didn't think she could ever go through with it. How would he react to the news? Would he be angry? _Christine! He isn't Chris so stop freaking out. Everything will be fine just calm down._ The nurse pushed her out into the waiting room where everyone was waiting. Jax was the first person she spotted, his head hanging in his hands staring at the floor. Gemma was reading through a magazine. All the guys were either watching tv or asleep. Even Jimmy, Mary, and the kids were there. The kids were the first to spot her along with Mary.

"Christine! Christine!" The twins yelled rushing over.

The mention of her name seemed to get everyone's attention. She knew if she spoke that she would start crying all over the place so she tightly smiled at them. Everyone got up but they didn't rush over at her which she was thankful for. Mary had been right on the kid's tails trying to keep them from jumping up on Christine. Reaching out with one arm she pulled the kids away and grabbed Christine's hand in a comforting way.

"Are you alright?"

Christine looked up into the woman's face and burst into hysterics nodding. This sudden reaction seemed to panic everyone who hurried around her to make sure she was alright. The nurse spoke up thankfully so that Christine wouldn't have to.

"She's fine, she really just needs to go home and get some rest as soon as possible. We had to keep her awake because of the concussion but enough time has passed now that she can sleep."

Mary nodded at the woman and Jax walked over behind the wheelchair taking the nurses place. Everyone got up and headed outside as Jax pushed Christine. Before everyone had made a move though she had caught a glimpse of Jimmy's face and he still looked upset. There was no way she could deal with that right now. Everyone got on their bikes and in their cars and pulled out of the hospital. Jax sat in the backseat behind Christine and Gemma drove back home with Christine staring out the window of the passenger seat. It looked like it was going to rain and it was dark with all the clouds. Christine saw Mabel's Kitchen coming up in the next two miles. They had the best burgers and onion rings which sounded delicious to her at the moment.

"Do either of you have any money on you?" she asked turning to look at them.

"Yeah why?" Jax asked.

"I'm hungry and want a burger and some onion rings from up there," she said pointing. "I'll pay you back when we get to the house."

Jax laughed "You don't have to pay me back," he said before leaning up to kiss her.

She felt herself stiffen but told herself to relax. Gemma pulled the cutlass into the parking lot of the burger place and they went through the drive-thru. Christine ate on the way home contemplating everything. She was going to have a baby. A little person was growing inside of her right now. Wrapping her mind around it seemed impossible. Her grandpa had made sure that she was taken care of so money wasn't a problem and she could still go to school to be a vet. People did it all the time. Jax might not want to be a part of the whole thing, but there were tons of single parents out there. Counting back the days she thought about how long she had been pregnant. It was somewhere around two and a half weeks. _I'm gonna get huge_ she thought.

Pulling up at the house she climbed out and headed for the house without waiting for everybody else. Walking on to her room she knew she had to get a shower. She hadn't even showered since last night when she and Jax had been together which grossed her out. Going into the bathroom she closed the door but didn't lock it. Someone had wiped up most of the blood that had been in the floor but you could still see it. Taking off her clothes she climbed into the shower and then turned on the water making it slightly warm but mostly cool like a swimming pool. The coolness felt good on her skin which seemed to be ten times hotter than it was supposed to be. Sticking her head underneath the stream of water she stood there letting it wash over her skin. _I'm pregnant. I, Christine Lancer, am pregnant. I haven't even turned eighteen yet!_ Tears started coming fresh again and she put her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound of the sobs. _People are gonna think I'm a whore. It's going to be just like after Chris raped me._ All the taunting and teasing that she had went through. Chris had thought it was hilarious. He was one of the people who had done most of the teasing. She finished up her shower very slowly and climbed out of the tub. Her reflection in the mirror showed her how puffy and red her eyes were. Her skin still felt hot which she guessed meant she had a slight fever. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. Today had been too much for her. She remembered that she had to do her school work. Thinking about her school work reminded her, the school had called earlier and she never called them back. There wasn't any use worrying about it now everybody had already gone home for the day. Drying her hair and brushing her teeth before she came out of the bathroom didn't seem to stop the tears. At this rate she wouldn't have anything left to cry. She was supposed to be resting but here she was blubbering like a baby in hysterics. _I wonder if they were supposed to let me go so soon after a blood transfusion _she thought. Probably not but she wasn't going to question it. Christine pulled open the bathroom door to find Jax sitting on the edge of the bed. He had been waiting on her obviously since his head popped up as soon as she opened the door.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah why?" she said walking into her closet.

He walked over to the door of the closet leaning against the door jam and sighed staring at her.

"I heard you crying in there so what's wrong?"

Christine kept her eyes trained on her clothes that she was looking through and didn't answer him. She heard him sigh again but this time she could tell it was backed by anger.

"Christine!"

She looked down at the floor and then up at him. Then she lost it and started crying again. Jax walked over and put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"What's going on? I can't do anything about it if you don't tell me."

_Just tell him, this conversation is inevitable. _

"I'm pregnant," she whispered so quietly that she almost didn't hear it.

"What?" he asked.

Clearly he hadn't heard her either. She sighed and pulled her head back to look him in the eye.

"Jax… I'm pregnant," she said through tear filled eyes.

She just stood waiting for him to get mad and tell her she was crazy.

"It's mine?" he asked seeming to be in shock.

"Jax, you're the only person I've been with since Chris. Hell you're the second person I've ever even had sex with and if I were four months pregnant I think I'd be way bigger than this!"

"But how?"

"That night at the hotel…. When we were drunk. Did you use anything?"

Realization washed over his face and he groaned.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't even thinking."

"Well you don't even have to worry about it," she said stepping away from him.

"What do you mean? You aren't going to get rid of it are you?"

Shaking her head no at him she let out a short wry laugh.

"I could never do that. I just meant that you don't have to worry about it. I'm not asking you for anything and I'll take care of it by myself."

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would you have to do it by yourself?"

"Jax who are you kidding. There's no way you want to be a dad. You're eighteen. Plus I don't even know what this is between us. Are we fuck buddies? Are we together? What?" she yelled throwing her hands in the air.

Jax walked back over to her looking deep in her eyes. Placing his hands on either side of her face he leaned in close until their breath was mingling.

"Do you honestly think that I would come all the way across the country for a fuck buddy?"

"Does that mean we're together?" she whispered.

He let out a laugh and gave her that cocky smirk that she loved.

"Yes," he said before kissing her.

Pulling back Jax put his hand on her stomach and smiled at her.

"Oh, and you get to tell your mother," she said laughing.

"Are you kidding? She's gonna be so excited she won't be able to stand it."

Why had she even stressed about this? Jax was fine about it and she knew they were together. All her anxiety was seeping back out and she wasn't crying anymore. How were they supposed to tell everybody?

"Jax let's wait until later to tell everybody okay?"

He looked curious as to why she wanted to wait but he nodded. Christine put on some clothes and Jax went and got into the shower. Laying on her bed a short time later listening to the sound of the water running Christine put her hands on her stomach and smiled. _I'm going to be a mom._


	25. Breaking The News

Sitting at the dinner table that night Christine felt like she was about to burst. Jax was holding her hand underneath the table and looking over at him she could tell that his feelings mirrored her own. They had planned on telling everybody at dinner, minus Jimmy and his family. They weren't joining them for dinner tonight. Christine hadn't wanted to invite them in case when she told them Jimmy blew up again. Christine knew that she would have to tell them after dinner though. If they heard it from someone else it wouldn't be good. The outburst Jimmy had at dinner wouldn't be anything compared to what would happen. Looking around the table in order starting with Happy who was to her left eating his dinner and laughing at something Opie was saying, Opie who was sitting beside him animatedly waving his arms around, Chibs who was having a discussion with Gemma, Gemma listening to him with the posture of a woman who was in control, then Tyler who was staring at Christine. When their eyes locked he didn't look away he just stared at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Christine broke eye contact first looking down at her plate which she had hardly touched. Picking up her fork with her free hand she pushed things around and took tiny bites. Jax squeezed her hand a little harder which was the signal that it was time to tell everybody. Second thoughts were coming to her mind. There was no way she could tell them. Her breathing started to increase and Jax spoke up.

"Everybody," he said loudly.

Silence fell around the table and everybody turned from what they were doing to look him.

"Christine and I have some news."

Gemma's eyes fell on Christine and there was an all knowing look in her eye. _Oh gosh, she knows and she's going to kill me. Jax is her son and she's going to hate me. _Christine looked down again. She wasn't sure what it was about Gemma that always made her feel weak.

"Christine's pregnant. She found out at the hospital today."

Congratulations came pouring in from everyone and she found the strength to look up at them and thank them. Everyone started to get up. The guys gave Jax claps on the back and they laughed. Gemma walked around the table with a smirk and hugged her.

"Congrats baby," she whispered in her ear.

"You're not mad?" Christine asked looking confused.

Gemma rubbed Christine's back and then pulled away with a laugh.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. You remind me so much of his father and me when we were your age. I got pregnant at an early age too. With my first boy, Thomas," Gemma's eyes seemed to glaze over as she got lost in thought.

Chibs walked over and gave Christine a one arm hug around the shoulders and congratulated her.

"You're gonna make an honest man out of Jackie Boy are you?" he yelled over at Jax while nudging Christine.

Christine laughed at the thought. The guys headed for the kitchen getting beers out of the fridge and Christine looked around and saw that Tyler had gotten up from the table and was nowhere in sight. She hoped that he hadn't gone to talk to Jimmy. While she was thinking about it she realized that she better go get that over with now. Walking unnoticed towards the front door she grabbed one of her grandpa's old coats off the rack. It was a riding coat from when he went on long cattle drives. Throwing it over her arm she headed out the front door and up towards Jimmy's. It was drizzling lightly but there wasn't any use driving her car up there. The doctor had told her to stay warm and to rest but she had to go tell them. Pulling the coat on as she kept moving she looked around at everything. It was dark outside and the wind was blowing. Some of the leaves were starting to fall off the trees which was a sure sign of the middle of autumn. Christine started shivering as the cold and the wetness seeped in through her clothes. Looking up ahead she told herself that she was almost there. There was only about the distance of a football field left. She got that strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that someone was watching her. Looking around she didn't see anyone, but of course she couldn't see very far. Increasing her pace she hurried up the driveway until she finally reached the front porch. Walking up the steps and past the two wooden rocking chairs she knocked on the big wooden door with the wreath hanging on it. It wasn't a Christmas wreath; Mary just liked to keep wreaths on the door all year round. She made them herself and put things on them to match the season. This one had little pumpkins and red and yellow leaves on it. Christine could hear the twins inside running around and Mary telling them to calm down as her voice got closer and closer to the door before it was pulled open. Mary's face lit up in a big smile as she ushered Christine inside. Breathing in the scent of potpourri she pulled off her jacket and hung it on the peg in the entry way. The house always looked beautiful. It had a more feminine touch too it unlike Christine's. Where Christine's house had deer heads Mary's had pretty pictures and flowers. No one else she knew had a home like this. Not even Gemma, whose house was more modern and guy friendly. Pushing her hair back out of her face she sat down in the lazy boy chair in their living room. Jimmy was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels not paying any attention to her and Mary was getting the kids down the hall and into bed. Taking a steadying breath she prepared herself for how she was going to break this news to them. Mary came back into the living room sitting down beside Jimmy.

"How are you feeling Christine?"

"I'm feeling better now, probably shouldn't have walked up here but I have something important I need to tell y'all."

Mary reached over patting Jimmy on the knee.

"Turn that off Jimmy."

He grumbled but cut it off turning his full stare on Christine.

"Well… What is it honey?" Mary encouraged after Christine made no move to speak.

"At the hospital today I found out some news. Don't look so worried," she told Mary as she noticed her head start to crease with concern. "It's just that… well… I'm pregnant."

Jimmy was gripping the remote control so hard his knuckles were turning white and his face was growing redder by the minute. Mary smiled faintly but didn't make a move to say anything. Both women were waiting, ready for Jimmy's reaction, sensing that it was going to be loud and abrupt. To Christine's surprise his hand relaxed after a few minutes which had seemed to go on forever.

"Is it that boy's?" he finally asked.

"Do you mean Jax?"

"Yeah I guess. I don't know that boys name," he grumbled.

"Yes it's his."

Christine felt like a child that was telling her parents that she was pregnant. The tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Looking out the window she wished that she was back in California not having to deal with this.

"Well, what are you two gonna do about it?" he asked sitting up straight to look at her.

"Now Uncle Jimmy I hope you're not talking about what I think you are!"

"No," he said interrupting her with a wave of his hand. "Is that boy gonna help you take care of it? Are you gonna get married? Does he have a job? You ought to not even be in this predicament, y'all ain't married. You know damn well how I feel about that. You sure as hell ain't dropping out of school either if you're thinking that missy. You're granddaddy made me promise to take care of you like you was my own and I won't allow it. Jack would turn over in his grave. You've had your heart set on being a vet for as long as I can remember, and you're damn well gonna do it," he said flustered. Christine had to interrupt him before he had a stroke. 

"Uncle Jimmy calm down. I don't know about the marriage thing we haven't discussed it. He does have a job at his family's body shop though and he's still in school too," she said not mentioning his truancy behavior. "Do you actually think I'm stupid enough to drop out of school? I've worked too hard not to go to college. Don't worry so much."

"DON'T WORRY SO MUCH?" he let out a wry laugh. "Are you kidding me girl? You seem to have a natural talent at finding yourself in trouble. Been that way since you was knee high," he stood up throwing his hands in the air. "You wasn't out there in California but a week and now look at you, knocked up. You ain't knowed that boy long enough to sleep with him!"

Sighing Christine pinched the bridge of her nose. Jimmy always got himself worked up about things and she had learned over the years to just let him get it all out so he could calm down. Mary reached over and grabbed Christine's free hand and Christine opened her eyes and turned towards her.

"Honey, what I think he means is that he wants you to be prepared and to have someone who's gonna take care of you. You and that baby deserve that."

"Well I know that, and everything's gonna be okay," standing up out of the chair she stretched her back and then looked back at them. "I just wanted to let you guys know though, but I better get back to the house and get some rest."

"I'll give you a ride back down there; you don't need to be walking in the rain. Hell you were just in the hospital earlier today," Jimmy said.

After giving Mary a hug Christine put her coat back on and headed out to Jimmy's truck with him. They rode the short distance in silence but Jimmy gave her a hug and a kiss on top of the head before she got out.

"I don't mean to give you a hard time Christine but I love you kiddo and I'm just looking out for you. You tell that boy though that I'll kick his ass if he doesn't take care of things you hear?"

Christine laughed, "Yes Uncle Jimmy."

"Oh by the way, you need to get started on planning for the Halloween charity event."

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

Standing in the driveway she watched as his truck headed back up the hill; the red tail lights shining bright in the darkness.


	26. Rewrapped Presents

Hey y'all. So I know that its been A LONG TIME(!) since I've updated this story. Of no fault of mine though. Fanfiction wouldn't let me update this chapter and let me tell you, I HAVE been trying. But it finally did and I'm so excited to get this story started back up. I've missed it. Hope you like it.

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><p>That night Christine sat at the desk in her bedroom after finishing up the last of her school work for the week. The wind blew furiously outside and the sound of rain hitting the house was the only thing that you could hear in her room. She tapped her pencil over and over again on the desk as she stared off into space thinking. There was a lot on her mind and it was giving her anxiety in the worst way. She wasn't sure how she was going to get everything done. Her school work was basically the only thing she felt good about. Setting her eyes on the calendar that hung on the wall she searched for the date they always had the Halloween Charity event and counted how many days there were to prepare. It was September 23rd and she had exactly five weeks to get everything done and ready. They always started on the 29th and ran until the 31st. It had always been a big event to everyone in town. Christine didn't know if anyone would even show up this year which would be extremely embarrassing. If she didn't throw it then everyone would look at her like a coward though and showing weakness was unacceptable. Jax was also leaving tomorrow. Christine felt a little pang in her chest at the thought of being away from him. He hadn't said anything about when he was coming back. She couldn't even remember if he had said anything about coming back. It was a long commute from California to North Carolina she knew that, but looking down and putting her hands on her stomach she knew that it was going to be harder now. Christine could hear the TV in the living room playing Lonesome Dove, one of the old westerns in her grandpa's collection. Everybody had unanimously said they wanted to watch it after Happy found it. Christine had decided against staying in there to watch it since she had seen it so many times that she could quote the entire thing. Putting down her pencil she realized that she should be spending time with Jax since he was leaving. Christine put all of her school work into a pile and headed for the living room. Gemma and Chibs were sitting on either end of one of the couches and Happy and Opie mirrored them on the other couch. The fire in the fireplace was blazing brightly lighting the darkened room in a soft glow. Beers were being drunk and two big bowls of popcorn were being passed around. Christine walked past all that to the big recliner close to the TV that Jax was stretched out in. When she got close enough that he saw her he moved over and lifted up the blanket he was under and let her climb in on his right side. Getting in next to him was like crawling into a warm pile of blankets after they've just come out of the dryer. He lifted his arm up so she could snuggle in closer to his side. Putting her legs over top of his she tucked her feet under his left leg. Jax grabbed her chin with his free hand turning her head to face him grabbing her behind the neck before kissing her deeply. His mouth tasted like beer and his scruff rubbed against her face. As his tongue tangled with her own she relaxed into him before he pulled away smiling. She felt his hand go underneath her shirt and start to rub softly over her stomach. With a quiet laugh she turned back to watch the movie.<p>

Christine woke up to complete darkness other than a faint light that she guessed was coming from the embers in the fireplace. Looking down she saw that Jax's head was on her chest and she could feel his hand on her stomach. She almost didn't want to move but she knew Jax was going to have to ride tomorrow and his back would be killing him if he slept in this chair. Christine couldn't remember when she went sleep but she wondered if Jax got all the way through Lonesome Dove. Figuring no she laughed. Earlier that night she had tried to tell them that you don't sit down to watch that movie late at night. They might have watched the whole thing though, there wasn't any telling. Reaching down she rubbed her thumb across Jax's cheek.

"Jax," she whispered.

Jax didn't wake up and he didn't move an inch. Giving him a gentle shake she repeated his name. Christine felt him stir a little beside her before he tightened his grip around her and got still again.

"Jackson Teller you better not go back to sleep!" she said seriously.

Slowly he looked up at her blinking past the sleep in his eyes and rubbed his hand through his hair pushing it out of his face.

"Let me up from here and let's go get in the bed."

Maneuvering the chair closed and finally getting up Christine wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and intertwined her fingers with Jax's before heading for her bedroom.

Pulling off everything but her t-shirt and her panties she climbed into the bed crawling underneath the covers next to Jax. Cuddling up next to him she felt him run his fingers up and down her arm for a while. Then he ran them up and down her side. She knew he wanted to have sex. Leaning her head up she kissed along his jaw then down his neck. Coming back up she kissed him his tongue finding her own. She felt that fire in the bottom of her stomach. All she wanted was him and she didn't want to wait. His hands found her hips lifting her up to straddle him. Reaching down to pull her shirt off his hands caught her own stopping her before he pulled her down to kiss him again. The whole time running his hands up and down her thighs in a rhythmic motion. This was his thing; he always got her worked up to the point she felt she would explode then gave in. It pissed her off but drove her wild in the right ways. She figured Jax wanted her to want him almost to the point that it hurt, but she already did. Rolling her over so she was on her back he played with the elastic band on her panties. She looked over in the dark at him lying beside her feeling her eyes get heavy. His hand dipped lower running his fingers on the spot between her legs. Her breathing got heavier and she could make out Jax smiling at her. He stopped, pulling down her panties and throwing them over into the floor. Putting his hand back down between her legs he pulled her legs apart pushing a finger inside. Her hand immediately grabbed on to his forearm squeezing tight as her back arched against him. He laughed at her and kept on.

"You want me to stop?" he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head no.

"I can't hear you," he whispered playfully pulling his finger out slowly and then pushing it back in hard making her let out a moan.

"No! I said no," she said quietly. "Jax stop teasing me please," she pleaded.

The tone in her voice must have gotten to him because he pulled off his boxers crawling in between her legs. Leaning down to pull off her shirt he kissed her and then entered her causing her to suck in a breath. She figured that she could have sex with him every day of her life and never get tired of it. They went at it for what seemed like hours before they both reached ecstasy. Jax lay on top of her until his breathing slowed. Crawling over beside her he pulled her to him holding her tight.

Christine woke up to a dark room, but tried to no avail to fall back asleep. Jax was still spooning her and his grip on her hadn't loosened. Smiling to herself she thought about how kind, caring, and sweet he actually was. Behind all that bad boy exterior he was the most caring guy she had ever met. Yes, he did have some bad parts. What person didn't? She silently told herself not to get her hopes too high. Everything that had ever happened to her in her life had taught her not to put all your hope on something because things had a way of changing. She unhooked his arms from around her and slid out of the bed. On her way to her desk her toe collided with the leg of it making her cringe in pain. She was quick to throw a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't wake Jax, but it didn't stop the throbbing pain or the tears that sprung to her eyes. She had lived in this room her whole life, so how she still stumped her toes on things baffled her. Her phone told her that it was 4:48 in the morning which only aggravated her more. Not having any sleep didn't sit well with her. Sleeping was one of those things she had always loved to do. Taking her to a world all her own. The thought hit her that maybe she didn't want to sleep as much now because life had finally turned around. There were things to look forward to now.

Christine took a quick shower and dried her hair before putting it in a quick ponytail; throwing on an old oversized sweater and her jeans and boots. During her shower she figured that since she was up she might as well get started on the charity event. It's not like she wouldn't be jam packed busy to the day of anyways. On her way to the barn she contemplated why they were even doing it again this year. People only came because of her grandpa anyways. Who wanted to come to a charity event thrown by the girl who 'lied' about being raped? Christine rolled her eyes at the thought. Even to this day she couldn't understand who would lie about being raped. Almost to the barn door she heard a branch break and turned looking towards the pond. She could have sworn she just saw someone standing at the edge of the tree line. _Get ahold of yourself!_ She thought. Being overly paranoid wasn't going to get her anywhere. Hurrying inside of the barn she closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. The barn was in complete silence other than the few little sounds the sleeping horses were making. Someone had left the office door open though, and the lamp inside was on. Walking inside she realized why it was still on. In her office chair was Tyler, with his muddy cowboy boots propped up on her desk. He was leaning back as far as the chair would go and his arms were folded over his rising and falling chest. With his cowboy hat pulled down over his face she knew that he was asleep. Most likely from the half empty bottle of whiskey that was open on the desk, next to the glass that still had what he hadn't finished in it. Shaking her head she sat her stuff down on the desk and walked to the coffee maker and started putting together a pot. A man who drinks like that has to be fighting some serious demons. Turning her head for a second to glance at him she wondered why he was all alone. If she would have gotten to know him then she wouldn't be wondering right now she thought sourly. It was shocking he didn't have a girlfriend though. Most guys who were on the rodeo circuit had them. Some more than one, but at least one. Or buckle bunnies. The thought turned her stomach. Everyone knew that buckle bunnies was just a nice term for rodeo sluts. The thought of Tyler with one made her angry. _What in the world are you getting mad about_? She thought suddenly. He wasn't her boyfriend and she barely knew him. When the coffee maker started up she got to work pulling things out of filing cabinets being as quiet as she could. It was her office yes, but she figured he had been up all night and Jimmy would have him to work early today as usual. Whether he was hung over or not didn't matter to Jimmy. She could count numerous times she had come home from partying and Jimmy would put her to work, not only her normal stuff but all kinds of ludicrous tasks just for punishment.

The smell of coffee was taking up every inch of the office and it was a heavenly smell. She didn't like to drink it anymore but the smell was always nice. Looking up at the clock she saw it was five thirty. Jimmy would be down at exactly six. He was never late, and if he caught Tyler like this he would be pissed. Walking around the desk she leaned down and shook him pulling off his cowboy hat. He squeezed his eyes tighter at the sudden brightness but made no move to get up. Christine rolled her eyes before pulling up one of his eye lids. They moved around a little bit but he reached up and swatted her hand away with a hard smack before going back to sleep. She stood up with a look that said 'Oh no he did not just slap my hand'. With an idea she walked over to the mini fridge underneath the coffee maker and got a hand full of ice out of the freezer box. Carrying it carefully back over to him she lifted up the waistband of his jeans easily and threw the ice inside quickly stepping back. She figured no bull ride he had ever had got him moving this quickly. He shot up out of the chair like a bolt of lightning trying to shake the ice out not succeeding before he unbuttoned his jeans and threw them to the floor shaking the remaining ice that hadn't melted yet out of his boxers. Christine who was hysterically laughing so much so that tears were now rolling down her face, bent over at the waist trying to catch her breath. Standing back up after a few gasps she wiped the tears off her face and saw Tyler shoot her a glare before bending over and pulling his jeans back up onto his muscular waist. While tucking his button up white shirt back in he spoke.

"What the hell'd you do that for?"

"Because you smacked my hand when I was nice enough to wake your drunk ass up. Jimmy will be down here in..." she looked over at the clock again which now read 5:45. "About fifteen minutes. So you're welcome."

She turned and walked over to the coffee pot pouring some of the dark hot liquid into one of the three mugs that sat in front of it. Tyler made his way across the room until he was right behind her. His warm breath tickled the back of her neck. One hand moved its way up to her hip tracing the waistline of her jeans before she felt his strong calloused hands move up underneath her sweater to run his fingers across her stomach. She felt the heat in the lower part of her stomach run all over her body as she involuntarily leaned back against his hard strong body putting her hand on top of the one underneath her sweater to stop his fingers from moving. Her breathing had started to quicken and she was sucking in shallow breathes. This wasn't right but it felt right. Shaking her head she tried to get her senses about her. Then she felt the soft low rumble in his chest as he started to laugh. Pulling her arm forward in a quick motion she sent it back just as fast and hard elbowing him in the ribs. This only seemed to humor him more.

"Don't get someone worked up and expect them not to ruffle your tail feathers too," he whispered in her ear with his deep gravelly voice before walking back around the desk to get his hat. "You really oughtta lift some weights or something. I've been kicked by calves harder than that."

Christine's anger flared up as she sent an empty coffee mug flying across the room at his head. He ducked out of the way before it clipped him, but the mug hit the wall and broke with a loud shatter.

"Hey hey hey! Calm down. I'm only messing with you. Damn, why are you so serious all the time?" he asked sitting down in the chair he had been sleeping in.

"I'm not serious all the time," she said in a hurt tone.

Carrying over the dark liquid as carefully as she could she sat it in front of him avoiding his eyes.

"You better drink that and sober up… and you can't just touch me like that. I do have a boyfriend."

He nodded his head "Oh yeah that's right. Sorry. Congrats on the baby though I guess."

"Thanks" she said feeling embarrassed.

She sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk and picked up her cell phone so that she would have something to do. Her skin felt like it was burning where he had touched her.

"That guy gonna marry you?"

Christine didn't know what she was supposed to say.

"Hey, if he doesn't, he's a damn fool."

She felt her cheeks redden and looked up at him curiously. The fact that Tyler would be the perfect kind of guy for her didn't slip her mind. He was a down home country boy who worked here at her farm and did the rodeo circuit. She was sure that everyone would think so. Her heart lay elsewhere though, in her bedroom on her bed sleeping to be exact. Jax brought out the best things in her. He made her want to be adventurous and take life by the handlebars so to speak. If she settled down with Tyler or any guy like him she knew that all her life would be was the same thing day in and day out. Be a good wife, have the food on the table, keep the house neat, and pop out a few kids. It wasn't like that with Jax. She didn't know what was gonna happen in the next few hours much less over time.

"Why do you drink every night?" she asked him suddenly. "What are you trying to drown Tyler Blackwood?"

He looked taken aback for a moment. Then shook his head like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Nothing. Just like whiskey."

He stood up putting the lid on the whiskey bottle and tucked it under his arm before heading out the office door with his coffee in his hand. She knew that he had a past and obviously one that he didn't want to talk about either.

Christine spent the next few hours getting addresses and phone number for the usual guest list, along with all the stuff that would need to be rented, bought, and done. Jimmy had poked his head in a while earlier surprised to see her in there. He told her that she shouldn't be out there since she was supposed to be resting but he didn't put up a big fight. Most likely he knew that it wouldn't have been much use since she was as stubborn as an ox.

At twelve Christine's stomach started growling so she put all the things she had been going through in a huge pile and picked it up carrying it in the house. She noticed that her car was gone on her way wondering who had taken it. But also noticed that two of the four bikes were gone too. Walking into her house she saw that no one was around and everything was quiet. Throwing the stack of papers down on the bar she walked to the fridge after pulling out a bottle of apple juice and some string cheese she leaned her elbows on the bar eating it. Looking around she thought that it was weird someone had left the laundry room door open, and it looked like the back door was open too. Getting aggravated she figured someone had went outside and forgot to shut it back;_ Letting all the damn heat outside_. Taking a drink of her juice before she sat it down she walked over to the laundry room. She had been right; someone had left the back door standing wide open. What was weird was the bright red present sitting on the top step of the deck. It had a big silver bow. There wasn't a tag on the outside of it. Pulling open the wrapper she saw there was a box inside. Pulling it open she saw a silver locket in it with the floral pattern etched into its exterior. She felt the blood drain out of her face. Then felt the package slip out of her fingers and fall to the ground. It seemed like she was a thousand miles away watching herself in slow motion. Her skin was vibrating and she was shaking so hard the scenery around her looked like it was moving instead of her. She didn't hear anyone come up behind her but when a hand reached out to touch her shoulder she started fighting back. Everything inside of her seemed to break in that moment; she started to sob as she tried to fight off whoever was behind her. Spinning around she saw that it was Tyler. The stricken look on his face was all she could gather from him, but she fell into his arms and cried.

Tyler ran his hand over her back letting her cry out everything she needed to. He still wasn't sure as to why she had flipped out like she had but it didn't stop him from holding her. They hadn't moved from the same spot on the porch. Pulling back from him she wiped her eyes, embarrassed that she had broken down in front of someone. She felt like she had to explain.

"He's been here," she said through a stuffy nose.

She was scared and she was angry.

"Who's been here?"

The look on his face said it all. He thought she was insane.

"Chris! I came in and the door was open out to here! He left this," she said picking up the box and pulling the locket out before throwing the cardboard back on the ground. "He gave this to me back when we were dating and I threw it at him when we broke up!"

Moving around him she walked to the gun case in the entryway unlocking it and pulling out two of the shotguns inside throwing one to Tyler who had followed her. Pulling out a box of shells she handed him a handful. He still wasn't getting the picture. Christine saw Gemma come out of her grandpa's room towel drying her hair.

"Where is everybody?"

Gemma looked confused but replied, "They went out a little while ago. Why what's wrong?"

"Did they take my car?"

"Yeah baby what's wrong?"

Handing Gemma the gun in her hand she said "Do you know how to use this?"

Gemma gave her a duh look and took it.

"Chris was here. Call Jax and see if everything's okay on their end. Keep that with you because the door was open when I came in. He was in the house."

Gemma looked shocked that someone had been inside while she was here.

"I'm sick of this shit. He's never gonna leave me alone. He had to have just been here though so he's probably still around."

Pulling another rifle out of the cabinet and bullets to go in it she shut it and locked it back and headed out the front door at a run.


	27. The Hunt Shortlived

Hello again. I'm so SO sorry that I haven't written in what seems like forever. It's really hard to come up with inspiration sometimes. But then there's those night where you cant STOP writing haha. I hope this chapter is likeable. Let me know what you think (:

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><p>Christine realized she probably didn't look very rational walking around in the woods with a rifle looking for her ex-boyfriend. Tyler stayed right with her though along with Jimmy. Seething was an understatement for the emotion Jimmy was showing. He was just as fed up as Christine. It was written all over the way he was stomping around the leaves crackling under his feet and by the way his body was vibrating all over. Christine could swear that the vein in his neck was going to bust as much as it was sticking out. All she wanted to do was live her life without this stupidity. Chris was mentally unstable or something. She had already told him to leave her alone, he had raped her, and they weren't together. Something just wasn't clicking in his head. Running around in these woods was making her tired and she felt dizzy again. Making a big deal out of this would most likely make Jax determined to stay which would piss Clay off. The last thing she needed was for him to hate her even more. Turning around to Tyler she walked over towards where he had been walking. Not realizing until just then that they had gotten separated. Spinning in a circle she had no idea how to find him. It was eerily quiet and it was making her uncomfortable. A wave of dizziness hit her and she reached out to grab a tree and missed falling to her knees feeling twigs and rocks cut into her knees. The forest floors dampness soaking into her jeans. Spots were starting to float in front of her eyes and she knew the blackness would soon take over. Pointing the loaded rifle into the air she let out two loud deafening shots and then leaned against the tree behind her. A faint breeze blew through the trees making the leaves above her dance in the sunlight. It was beautiful but everything seemed dreamlike. Reaching up she touched the spot on her right temple where her stitches were throbbing reminding her of the mess that was her life at the moment. She had a feeling everybody was gonna be upset that she had run into the woods like this and now was sitting at the bottom of a tree about to pass out. But also knew that she had never been one to think before reacting. This time she did feel stupid for jumping in feet first. It was starting to dawn on her that she had another someone to think about now. Christine reached her right hand up to lay it on her stomach. Realizing that her life was never going to be the same again. The thought of Chris just upset her so much she couldn't stand it though. No one deserved to have to deal with someone doing them this way. The spots floating in front of her eyes hadn't really gotten any better so she leaned her head back against the tree and shut her eyes taking slow deep breaths.<p>

Someone was nudging her but she didn't want to wake up.

"Christine… Christine wake up."

It sounded like her… her grandpa.

"Grandpa?" she mumbled.

Snapping her eyes open she looked around and then up into the face of Tyler; A look of worry written all over his face. Tyler her hero… wait that wasn't right. Someone else should have been standing there. But at the moment Christine was too tired to try and figure out who it was. Reaching underneath her and picking her up he cradled her body with ease. Christine wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in the strong musky smell of a man who had come to save her. He carried her and the two rifles back to the house whispering "you're alright now" and "everything's gonna be okay" in repetitive time the whole way. He carried her into the house and down the hall to the bedroom laying her down easily before sitting down beside her. Christine couldn't stay conscious much longer but she reached out and grabbed his hand before he could get all the way up off the bed. Hanging on to his hand as tightly as she could she whispered "Please don't leave me." Darkness washing over her.

Christine felt something wet touching her face and tried to push it away. Then she heard the soft little squeaks and whimpers coming from beside her. Cracking open her eyes to investigate she saw a little tri colored beagle puppy that was about the size of both of her hands put together. It was trying to get as close to her as possible, she figured to stay warm. The black bandana around its neck sporting the SOA Reaper. Sitting up a little in the bed she scooped it up and laid it on her chest. The beagle looked up at her with big brown eyes and her heart melted. Finally looking around the room she thought that everyone was going to jump out and say 'Gotcha!' but no one did. The curiosity was too much to bare. Getting up with the puppy in tow she put on her slippers and made her way out into the living room; where everyone was sitting around doing a handful of different things. Gemma turned around from the counter where she was cooking and shook her head back and forth laughing before turning back to the counter stirring something in a bowl.

"What in the world is this?" she asked holding up the puppy like she was Vanna White.

Happy turned around and looked at her like she was stupid before saying "I believe that's what people call a 'dog'," and then turned back around to the card game he was playing with Opie. Opie tried to hide a laugh behind a cough when he saw Christine's face.

Rolling her eyes and cradling the puppy back in her arms she walked over to Gemma.

"Where's your son?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"He's outside somewhere baby. But you shouldn't be up let one of those idiots go get him," she said looking over her glasses at Opie and Happy.

"No its okay, I'll do it."

Heading for the door in a hurry before anyone could protest, stopping only to slap Happy in the back of the head.

"Smartass," she said handing him the puppy and cutting her eyes at him. "Hold it until I get back."

Opie's laughter followed her out the door before being cut off by the click of the door closing. Looking around she didn't see Jax on the porch. It had gotten dark outside and she could see her breath. She was wondering why the guys hadn't left since they were supposed to go tonight, but she figured it was because of her. Chris not only was messing up things in her life, but he was messing with Jax's. She knew that wouldn't sit well. Jax lived a life where things had to be done in a timely fashion. Clay wouldn't be happy about this at all. Walking out into the gravel on the driveway she headed over to the barn the gravel crunching loudly underneath her feet. The stars filled the dark sky and it never ceased to amaze her how beautiful they were. A true gift from God it was to be able to see such a breath taking view. The barn door was partially open and the light was spilling out onto the ground so she walked in figuring he had gone in there. The barn was warm as usual with the warm air blowing out of the heating unit. Walking to the open door that lead out to the pasture she saw that Ghost and Whiskey's stalls were empty. Getting to the door she saw Jax sitting on top of the metal gate attached to the big fenced in pasture. His back was to her but she could see the big clouds of smoke floating up into the air from where he was smoking. She could also smell the aroma she had gotten to know so well being around Chris. Getting over to him she slapped him on the butt. He turned around quickly obviously not hearing her walk up.

"Put that out," she said waving the smoke from around her face. "Or your babies gonna come out with three eyes."

Jax laughed at the joke but put the rest of his joint out.

"So you got me a Dog?" she asked giving him the sternest look she could while trying not to crack a smile.

Throwing his leg over the gate and getting his footing he climbed down to stand in front of her.

"Saw him while we were out today. Figured you might like something else to keep you warm at night," he said laughing. "Although it's not gonna be the same," he said grabbing the belt loops on her jeans and pulling her close to him.

"Thanks, He's really cute."

Along with his goofy grin his eyes were red and were almost closed. Bending down his head he kissed the side of her neck making her eyes flutter closed then walked her backwards until her back was up against the metal gate. Jax's hands made a swift beeline for the button on Christine's jeans but their mouths never broke contact. Feeling his hands rub up her stomach underneath her sweater and then back down dipping down into her panties she bit his lip making him laugh.

"Christine are you gonna bring them horses in?"

Jimmy's voice broke through the silence like glass shattering. Jax started to pull away but Christine got a death grip on his hoodie and wouldn't let him move.

"Button my pants back up," she whispered urgently.

Jax did what she said opening his eyes a little wider and blinking furiously. _He is so stoned right now _she thought.

"I'll bring the horses back in, don't worry about it," she called over Jax's shoulder.

Hearing Jimmy's boots clicking across the concrete floor of the barn, retreating, she peeped around Jax's arm to make sure he was gone. He had disappeared out of sight. Jax busted out laughing and Christine hit him in the arm before letting out a big sigh.

"That's not funny!" she said pushing him away from her and opening the gate heading over to the horses.

"Hey don't be mad at me, I was just having a little fun" he said grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

Maybe it was the stress from the whole day and the 'gift' on the back porch she had received but she snapped on him.

Jerking her arm away from him she let out a rye laugh.

"You sound just like fucking Chris when you say that."

Anger flared up in his eyes and she immediately regretted what she had said.

"Shit Jax I'm sorry. This whole fucking day has been a mess."

He didn't respond just shook his head and walked back through the barn and out the other door.

Letting out a sigh she went back to what she had to do. Christine led both of the horses back inside locking them in their stalls then went to turn off the lights in the office. Before she could get the lamp off she heard something hit the floor of the loft above her. Staring up at the ceiling she wondered if it was possible that a squirrel or something had gotten inside. She knew that she was wrong though. Walking out of the office she slowly walked up the steps to the loft as quietly as possible stopping at the top to listen. She didn't hear anything though. _Please don't let something jump out at me_ she thought _Of course this is stupid as hell coming up here alone!_ Reaching over she flipped on the light. Her eyes immediately went to a body that was lying on the old bed then to the empty whisky bottle lying in the floor. Tyler had passed out in another random spot in a drunken stupor. Rolling her eyes she wondered why he drank so much. At this rate his liver would fail him by twenty five. Making her way over to him she stepped around the bottle and shook him.

"Tyler get up!"

He groaned and made a face that she assumed meant 'Leave me alone'. Pulling on his arm and getting him to sit up was strenuous. She almost considered just leaving him up there but she knew if she did he would get sick. Finally getting him to sit up she had to keep telling him to stay awake.

"Now I need you to stand up okay? No don't go back to sleep. I'm gonna help you just stand up."

It took her a minute but she finally maneuvered him to where he was standing. All of his weight was resting on her and she felt like she was gonna fall. Having a man who outweighed her by at least thirty or forty pounds was proving difficult to help. Looking over the steps she was terrified that he was going to fall on her or they were both going to fall down the stairs. Not feeling like risking it she sat him back down on the bed and pulled her cellphone out of her front pocket dialing Jax's number. It rang two times and he picked up.

"Yeah."

She sighed hearing the anger in his voice.

"I need you to come out here and help me…. Please?"

The sound of him getting up and moving around came through the phone.

"Where are you at?" he asked her in an annoyed voice.

"Upstairs in the barn."

"Alright, I'll be out there in a minute."

The line went blank and Christine shoved the phone back in her pocket cursing under her breath. Picking up the empty whisky bottle and putting it on the table beside the bed she laid Tyler back down and sat down next to him. It wasn't long before she heard Jax coming up the steps. Looking up at him she saw that he was still ticked off.

"What the hell is this?" he said harshly looking over at Tyler.

Blowing out hard she threw her hands in the air.

"Just help me get him to the house you asshole."

He looked at her like she was stupid "I'm not his babysitter, leave his ass out here."

"Jax its gonna get even colder out here! Just because you're mad at me don't be like that towards everybody else! If it were you I wouldn't leave you out here like this even though you are being a fucking prick."

"There's a difference," he said moving over to Tyler's other side and pulling him up in one swift motion. Throwing Tyler's arm over his shoulder and getting a grip around his waist. "You're my old lady and this," he said leaning in close to her face, "This is just a man who can't hold his liquor."

With that he took off helping a mumbling Tyler down the stairs. Walking behind him she flicked off the light and they headed down the stairs then out the barn door, which Christine closed and locked. Neither of them spoke the whole way to the house. Christine rushed ahead of Jax and opened the door. After Jax maneuvered Tyler through and headed for the hallway she closed the door following. Gemma looked at her from the couch in a curious manner.

"What the hell is that?" she asked with a short laugh.

"That idiot is drunk again!" she said throwing her hands in the air.

Getting inside Tyler's room she saw Jax fling him down on the bed. One of Tyler's legs was hanging off the bed and he was lying at an angle. He turned and came walking towards her.

"You happy now?" he said stopping right in front of her. His face so close she could feel his breath on her face.

"Thank you"

Her fingers reached out and rubbed the inner skin on his wrist. Jax didn't fight her off or move away he just stared at her.

"I don't want to fight Jax its just-"

"Well don't compare me to your fucking ex! Is it not enough that you run off in the damn woods today acting stupid trying to get yourself killed? You're pregnant Christine that was fucking stupid!"

She could hear obvious anger in his voice but she could also hear the pain. That's where all of his anger was coming from. Her acting like an idiot earlier today is what really pissed him off.

"I'm sorry," she whispered moving closer to him.

Jax reached up cupping her cheek with his hand rubbing his thumb back and forth. With a sigh of resolve he leaned down to kiss her but inches from her lips a sound stopped him. Turning her head to look at Tyler she could see that he was dry heaving and then he threw up all over the bed. Jax made a disgusted noise, said "Fuck, we'll talk about this later" and walked out of the room. Christine figured it was up to her to take care of this mess. Tyler looked up at her wiping his mouth. Squinting his blood shot eyes as though he couldn't tell who was standing there he looked back down at the bed and then back up at her.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay Tyler. Can you stand up?"

"With or without help?" he asked being serious.

Christine walked over to him and helped him up. Maneuvering her and him around the room she helped him get changed into something to sleep in and somehow managed to get the dirty sheets and blankets off the bed.

"Lean up against the dresser until I can get these back on here."

Pushing him up against it, he listened and held on weaving around. Christine hurried and put new sheets on the bed and ran into the bathroom across the hall to grab the trash can. Moving back in the room she put the trash can beside the bed and came back over to help him sit down. When they got right next to the bed Tyler lost his balance and went to fall and she was going to let him go but he held on and she ended up falling with him; On top of him to be exact. Quickly she pushed herself back up before Jax could walk in. He'd kill Tyler without even blinking. Although Tyler was in too drunk a state to really know what his last name was.

"Tyler don't throw up on that bed again. There's a trash can right beside you."

Christine headed into the hallway and closing the door behind her and made her way to her room. Jax was lying on the bed one arm thrown underneath his head and he was just staring at the ceiling. The little puppy curled up next to him. Shutting her door she walked over next to the bed and took her slippers off before climbing up and sitting Indian style to face him.

Letting out a big sigh she said "Well let's get this over with."

Only his eyes moved to look over at her taking her in. Then he exploded jumping up off the bed to pace around the room, his voice carrying loudly like a trains whistle. Christine just kept her mouth shut so that he could get everything out.

"What the fuck were you thinking Christine? There were two guys here. TWO! But you decide to take your pregnant ass out in the woods to kill somebody. Then you pass out because you did just crack your fucking head open. What if you would have fell and something happened to the baby? What if you would have run into Chris and he would have killed you? Do you even think before you do shit? You can't be reckless like that! How am I supposed to leave you here and go all the way back across the fucking country knowing at any moment you could start trying to be the hero and get yourself hurt or even worse killed?"

He stared at her waiting for an answer. To which question she really wasn't sure.

"I know it was stupid Jax…"

"You're damn right it was stupid!"

"… But you can't expect me not to get pissed. I react without thinking sometimes. Was that the best way to do things? No, but that's the way they got done. I can't change that now."

"You're coming back to Charming with me. Go ahead and start packing. There's no way I'm fucking leaving you here."

"I don't think so. You know I have shit to take care of here!"

Sighing he rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. Locking his fingers together he raised his arms up to rest behind his neck.

"I don't fucking like this, but obviously you're just as fucking stubborn as me and I'm not gonna get you to change your mind. You know I could drag you out of here kicking and screaming and make you come with me."

Christine gave him a look that said 'Yeah go ahead and try and see what happens'.

Jax let out a laugh and crawled into the bed laying on his back and putting his arms back behind his head.

"If you're gonna stay here there's gonna have to be some rules."

Rolling over and laying her head on his chest and looking up into his 5 o'clock shadowed face she asked "What kind of rules?"


	28. Not as Planned

Christine was helping Jax get all of his things packed up for his trip. The house was noisy with the sound of all the guys doing the same. There was pointless chatter going on around them other than Jax and Christine. They were just kind of quiet lost in the thought that they were going to be apart. Every now and again one of them would reach over and kiss the other one or just stand there and hold each other. In one of those moments Christine sighed and looked up at him.

"We're never gonna get this done." She said laughing a humorless laugh.

Pulling away from each other they got the last of his things packed up and headed out of the bedroom. All the other guys were sitting at the table ready to go and Gemma was standing at the counter. Christine knew that Gemma done this all the time. Sending her men off, so it wasn't a wonder why she looked so calm. Christine herself looked pretty calm on the outside but on the inside she was a wreck. She didn't know how long it was going to be until Jax was going to get to come back. She did know that as soon as she got everything squared away here she was heading that way. She couldn't believe that Gemma was going to stay with her. At least until the Halloween Charity event. Hopefully she'd have the court date taken care of by then. They all walked out to the driveway other than Tyler and Jimmy and his family. They were all doing their own thing around the farm. All the guys came through and hugged Christine and Gemma. Chibs was the only one who really spoke more than a goodbye.

"You stay out of trouble you hear? Take care of yourself and that baby."

"Alright," she said with a smile.

Then they headed over to their bikes putting on their helmets.

Jax still standing there hugged Gemma, told her he loved her, and kissed her on the forehead.

"Bye baby. Stay out of trouble and be careful."

Then Jax walked up to Christine and wrapped his arms around her pulling her in close. She grabbed on to him like a lifeline forcing herself not to cry. Pulling back he leaned down and kissed her for a long pause then pulled back and looked her in the eye.

"I love you," he said.

Christine couldn't believe he had said it for the first time. It stunned her for a minute.

"I love you too Jax."

Looking down to rub her stomach he said "And remember the rules."

He looked up at her to make sure she was hearing him.

"Alright," she said with a laugh. "Be careful please and call me as soon as you can."

With another short kiss he walked away getting on his bike. The rumble of all the bikes starting up drowned out everything else in the world was going on and they took off down the driveway. The rumble dying of in the distance.

"What rules?" Gemma asked cocking an eyebrow at her.

Walking back into the house Christine explained.

"He gave me rules since I'm staying," she said with a laugh. "There were only three. Number one, Don't do anything stupid that could hurt me or the baby. Number two, Don't shoot anybody unless its absolutely necessary. And number three, Don't fuck anybody else because this is his pussy and his baby is inside of me."

Christine started crying thinking of last night when he had told her. The first two were the important ones the third one he had put in with a laugh. Afterward they had made love for the last time in a while and laid there and held each other afterwards until they fell asleep; Jax rubbing her scar back in forth.

Gemma reached over on the couch they were sitting on and wrapped Christine in a hug.

"It's gonna be alright baby. We have so much stuff to do time is just gonna fly by. Now let's dry up those tear," she said wiping them off Christine's face, "and get started."

The rest of the day the two of them cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and then went out to the barn to get the Charity events things in order.

"Gemma you really don't have to do this if you don't want to," Christine said breaking the silence.

"Actually, I'm enjoying it. I'm the one who always does this stuff back home for the clubs events."

After seeing Christine's bewildered face she gave a short laugh.

"Yes, Outlaw Bikers have charity events too. Looks like I'll have somebody to help me from now on."

The two of them made phone calls all day ordering supplies from all the different places, set up orders for food, and made out what they wanted the invitations to look like. Last stop of the day was taking it to the local print place and getting them all set up. Christine was glad to have the help. The work they had done today would have taken her three days and they gotten it all done in one. After getting back home and eating supper Christine went straight to bed. The events of the day had worn her out. Laying there with the lights off and the puppy snuggled into her side she stared at the ceiling and thought about everything. The ache in her heart started to grow more and more until the tears silently started streaming down her face until the turned into quiet sobs.

Christine's cell phone started vibrating and ringing on the bedside table beside her startling her. Reaching over she grabbed it. Jax's name and number on the screen.

"Hello", she said into the phone followed by a sniffle.

"_What's wrong?" _he asked immediately.

"Nothing Jax, where are you?"

"_We're about halfway there. We pulled over for the night at some hole in the wall motel. And no, its not nothing. Why are you crying?"_

"I just miss you," she said before she started crying again.

"_Hey now, quit all that before I turn around and come back."_

"Okay okay," she said wiping her eyes.

What was wrong with her? She never cries in front of anyone.

"_Look, I'd love to stay on the phone with you all night, but I've got to get some rest for the rest of this drive tomorrow. I love you. Get some rest, okay?"_

"Alright, I will, and Jax…. I love you too."

After hanging up the phone Christine drifted right off to sleep.

The days seemed to drag on for the next three weeks. With the Halloween event planning, Taking care of the farm, finding Tyler in random places drunk, and phone conversations with Jax. Although Jax had started to get more and more reserved and shut off. He wasn't calling as often and it started to worry Christine. But other than that things were calm. There hadn't been any more crazy surprises from Chris. Things seemed to be doing fine until that day.

Christine and Gemma were in town looking for their Halloween costumes and they were having a blast. Having tried on just about everything in the store Gemma finally came out in a hippie outfit which she looked perfect in. Gemma walked over to the mirror in the bell bottoms and the belly shirted peasant top with platform shoes on. Looking at herself she laughed then caught Christine's eye in the mirror.

"This is exactly what I looked like when I met Jax's dad."

Gemma seemed to go off into thought so Christine went to look around the rest of the store. Finally finding a top gun costume with a skirt, button up shirt, bomber jacket, and boots. She had a pair of aviators to go with it. She figured it would work. It was a good thing she wasn't showing yet or she'd be wearing some maternity costume. After she went in the dressing room and put it on she walked out to get Gemma's opinion.

"Baby you look hot! Definitely get that one."

Christine laughed. "Alright, I will."

After paying for everything they headed to get something to eat. After pulling up outside of a burger joint Christine looked at the time. If she called Jax right now it wouldn't be too early. Telling Gemma she'd meet her inside she dialed his number.

Jax answered on the third ring and immediately his tone sent up a red flag for her.

"_Yeah,_"

"Well hey to you too, Just wanted to call you and see how you are."

"_I'm fine."_

"Jax what is wrong with you? You've been acting weird lately."

"_Christine I cant deal with this shit right now I have stuff to do. I'll call you later."_

Then he hung up the phone. Christine stood there in the parking lot in awe for a few moments before she got pissed. Putting her phone in her pocket she stomped her way into the restaurant. Sitting down across from Gemma she slung her stuff down on the table.

"What's wrong?" Gemma asked with a concerned look on her face.

"I don't know what the fucks wrong with your son. He's been acting weird as hell for the past week or two and he just hung up on me!"

"Maybe he's just in a mood. We don't know what's going on back home."

"Well, that still aint an excuse for it! But you damn well can bet I'm gonna find out what's going on."

Christine made her mind up right then and there that she was going back to Charming, and she was leaving tonight.

After they got home Christine told Gemma she was tired and that she was gonna go lay down. As soon as she got in her room she started packing a bag. After Christine was certain Gemma had gone to bed she grabbed everything and quietly made her way through the house and out to the Cutlass. She opened the door and sat down then gasped in terror. Sitting right there in the passenger seat was Gemma.

"What took you so long?" she asked with an amused look on her face.

"How did you know I was going?"

"Baby, you're too much like me not to. Did you think you was gonna just leave me? Now lets get this show on the road."

Christine laughed and cranked the car and they headed out.

They made it back into Charming by the same time the next night. Gemma had driven for quite a while but they had switched back about four hours ago and she was now in the passenger seat asleep. Pulling into Jax's street, which had been her old street, she got nervous. He might actually flip out on her for coming. Pulling into the driveway she saw that Jax's bike wasn't there. So she backed right back out and headed for the clubhouse. The whole drive across she thought about what she was gonna say to him to smooth things over. He wasn't gonna like the fact that she had yet again acted on a whim and just done something without thinking it through. But to tell herself the truth this was nothing compared to running in the woods like an idiot. After parking the car in one of the spots she reached over and shook Gemma.

"Gemma we're here, wake up."

Gemma opened her eyes sitting up and stretched. They both got out of the car and headed towards the clubhouse. It looked like everyone was here. There were a ton of cars and bikes everywhere. Some people were sitting outside. Christine didn't see Jax anywhere and apparently Gemma didn't see clay either. The both of them headed inside and immediately had to fight through the crowd of bikers and crow eaters. When they got to the other end of the room that lead to the hallway Christine saw that Opie had saw her. He got up and rushed over to her.

"Uh, Christine, what are you doing here?"

Christine knew that something was up.

Narrowing her eyes at him she asked "Where's Jax?"

"Well, um, he's…"

Christine could tell that he was now blocking her way to the hallway. She just held her hand up to silence him and ducked around him. Opie was behind her every step of the way.

"Christine I really don't think you should go in there."

"And why the fuck not?!"

Getting to Jax's door she heard Opie sigh in an exasperated way.

Christine slung the door open and walked in. Jax was laying on his bed, and so was a blonde tramp who was naked straddling him.

The girl looked at Christine with a cocky attitude, "Um hunny can't you see we're busy?!"

Christine's eyes got wide and she felt her anger explode. Jax pushed the girl off of him and got up trying to find some pants.

"Christine calm down," he said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! CALM DOWN! I'll show you fucking calm."

Jax still hadn't found any pants and when Christine went to charge at the girl he grabbed ahold of her arm to stop her. Twisting around she punched Jax right in the Jaw and it made a nasty sound. He let go of her but she could tell that he was now pissed too. Turning back around to the girl she grabbed her by the hair and started punching her in the face. Somehow the girl fell off the bed onto the floor and Christine walked around to the other side and kicked her.

"Who the fuck do you think you are sleeping with my boyfriend you stupid slut!"

Christine grabbed her by the hair dragging the naked girl out of the room, down the hallway and out into the open area. Then slung her down and kicked her again. Everyone was staring now and the music had stopped.

"Get up you stupid bitch! Get up and get the fuck out of here. And so help me God if I ever see you back here, anywhere around Jax, or even out in Charming I will fucking kill you!"

The girl got up and rushed out of the club. Christine turned to see Jax walking up buttoning up his pants with no shirt on.

"And you! What the fuck is wrong with you!"

He went to say something but Christine cut him off.

"NO! Don't even speak to me! I'm done with this shit."

Turning on her heel she headed out the door and got in her car squealing tires out of the parking lot. She hadn't really thought this through because now she had nowhere to go other than a hotel. Which she knew Jax would come find her at. She didn't want to be sitting there when he came to find her either. If he could have fun, hell she could have fun too. She drove around looking for a bar. No, she couldn't drink, not that she was old enough to anyways, but she'd still go just to have something to do. She finally found a bar called Hoot Owls and pulled in. It looked like the place wasn't too packed. Getting out she walked in and felt eyes fall on her. Looking around the room she didn't see any faces she knew until she looked over at the pool tables. There was Brad Michaels the surfer boy from school. He was bent over making a shot and didn't see her. She walked over to him and leaned up against the table making sure that she wasn't in his way. When he hit the ball and it didn't make anything in he leaned up seeing her.

"Well hey, didn't expect to see you here. Haven't seen you at school."

"Yeah, that's a long story that I don't feel like telling."

He gave her a confused look but said "okay" with a laugh.

They spent the next half hour talking and shooting pool. They were about two minutes into a new game when the bar got quieter than it had been and there were hushed conversations. Looking up Christine saw why. In walked Jax, Opie, Happy, Juice, and Tig. Christine rolled her eyes and hit the ball knocking one of hers in before standing up. Jax walked right up to her and she could tell he was pissed. Good she thought. He deserves to be pissed off too.

"Come on, we're leaving."

"Oh you're free to fucking get the hell out of here. I think I'll stay right where I'm at thanks."

She turned away from him and went to walk away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"I said we're leaving. Let's go."

Brad walked up then and got up next to them.

"I believe she said she wasn't going anywhere."

Jax cut his eyes at him and let go of Christine and stepped up into Brad's face.

"I think you better mind your own fucking business."

Christine sighed and slung the pool stick down on the table with a clang and grabbed her coat. She knew that Jax would beat the shit out of him if this went any further. Walking right past all of the guys she headed for the door the cool night air hitting her as soon as she was into the parking lot. Halfway to her car Jax grabbed her and spun her around again pissing her off even more.

"What the fuck do you even think you're doing? Have you lost your God damn mind!"

"Jax if you grab me again," she said jerking her arm out of his hand "I'm gonna lay you out. I'm not your fucking property."

"What the hell do you think you're doing here with that clown?"

"Are you kidding me?! Its okay for you to be fucking some bitch but I cant come to a bar and shoot pool?! Are you delusional? This is not how a relationship works! I came out here because you were acting weird and I thought I should come check on you. Only to find you cheating on me!" 

She felt the tears coming up and turned her face away.

"Christine, a lot of shit is going on! I'm fucking sorry okay?! You don't always have to go all psycho bitch when shit goes wrong though! You're fucking pregnant!"

"I know I am," she said with her voice cracking. "By a sorry asshole like you."

With that she got in her car.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to your house and I hope that I don't see you there."

With that she cranked her car and headed back across town crying the whole way. How could he do this to her? After everything she had to deal with this too.

Pulling into the driveway she got out with her stuff and went inside. She took a shower and then went and laid down in the bed. She couldn't sleep though she was too stressed. It was about three hours later when she heard the front door open.


	29. Ol' John Law

Hey everybody, I am so sorry that its taken me so long to get a new chapter up. A lot of stuffs been going on that I wont go into. But I do want to thank you all for the reviews. It really makes me want to write more. I especially love the reviews where I can tell some of you are really getting into the story. I know some of you aren't really liking Christine's character haha, but what can I say? I do appreciate yall so much. God Bless and have a great day.

Oh btw, this is Rated R lol.

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><p>Picking up the little puppy off her chest she sat him on the bed next to her and sat up preparing herself for an argument. Instead of hearing his footsteps coming down the hallway like she expected the sounds of him going into the living room and falling down on the couch echoed through the house. She sat there for a moment deep in thought. <em>Well there's no way I'm going to be able to sleep but if I go in there I know its going to be an argument. Do I really want to start that tonight?<em> Deciding on a no she laid back down and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. The images of the blonde straddling Jax were taunting her and she kept having to tell herself to calm down so that she wouldnt go in there and start a full out war. Figuring that he was cold since there werent any blankets in the living room won out and she got up grabbing one off the bed and started down the hallway. Each step felt like she was dragging two lead feet. The dread in her stomach growing as she inched closer. _Watch me be trying to do something nice, although he doesnt deserve it, and it end up blowing up in my face. _Rounding the corner into the living room she saw him laying on the couch asleep. Clothes and shoes still on with his hat pulled down over his eyes. She felt that pang in her chest of how much she loved him and let it take place of the anger for a moment. Christine laid the blanket down over the arm of the chair and bent down and started gently untying his shoes pulling them off one by one. Jax smelled like straight liquor so she figured he'd gotten plastered before he came home. Knowing this took some of the anxiety off her chest figuring it would be hard to wake him. She took his hat off and placed it on the back of the couch then unzipped his coat. She pulled one arm out at a time but wasnt able to get his hoodie out from under him and left it. Unbuttoning his jeans and getting them off was going to be the hardest part. But she got them off only making him stir a little in his sleep. Standing back up she threw the blanket over top of him looking down at his peaceful face. How could a man who looks this kind and innocent in his sleep do the things he does every day she wondered. Cutting off the light and making sure the door was lock she headed back to the bedroom and laid down.

The morning sun coming in through the blinds woke her. She wasnt sure when she fell asleep but she had tossed and turned for awhile. Picking her phone up off the night stand she checked the time. Eight thirty in the morning, Jax probably wouldnt be up yet and she was busting to pee. Climbing out of the bed she made a run for the bathroom. It wasnt until she'd ran into the bathroom that she realized he was taking a shower. The steam hit her full force. He hadnt heard her come in obviously because he hadnt said anything, so she went and sat down to pee. She went back to the bedroom and got the puppy and took him to the kitchen to feed then started making herself something to eat. _Should I just leave before he gets out so that I dont have to deal with this? That would make a lot more sense than waiting for a pissed off bear to come find me. Ill just make him breakfast and see where that takes us. Or should I just leave it be? _She sighed wishing she could get out of her own head for five minutes. Overthinking everything had always been a problem of hers. Which is probably why she drove all the way out here. Although if she wouldnt have theres no telling what would have been going on. How could he do this to her? She wouldnt do it to him. The sickening thought of why was she even trying to make it work started running through her head. She saw a tear drop hit the counter where she was making breakfast. She hadnt even realised she was crying. She wiped her face and finished cooking breakfast.

Sitting at the table with everything in front of her she waited for him to come in. Her fork kept making its rounds pushing her eggs back and forth. She hadnt had the appetite to eat anything. Her eggs were making their hundredth round when Jax finally walked in. His hair still wet. The water from his hair was dripping down onto his white shirt making dark spots as they soaked in. He must not have expected her to still be here when he got out of the shower because he had an anxious exasperated look on his face as he ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the door jam.

"Is it safe for me to come in here?" he asked focusing on the pattern in the tile on the floor.

The hair on her neck was standing up and her stomach was twisting in knots. All she could think to say was "I made breakfast".

Jax took this as hint that it was okay to sit down. The quietness in the room was so loud she could hear both of their breathing. Feeling the tears coming up again she stood up, the chair making a scraping noise across the floor and beelined for the bedroom. Her chest was tight and she felt dizzy as she grabbed on to the dresser in the bedroom for support. THe image of the blonde assaulted her again. Jax walked through the door and started towards her but she threw her hands up in front of her.

"Dont! Dont touch me."

"Christine, I'm-"

"You're what Jax? Sorry?! You cant just say sorry after doing something like this and expect it to be okay!"

Jax moved towards her again ignoring her protests. Christine shoved him hard in the chest.

"Dont touch me."

"Can you stop being such a bitch for one second,"

"What the fuck did you call me?"

She shoved him hard in the chest again, this time pushing him into the wall behind him.

"I'm a bitch?" she said hitting him in the chest. "You're the one fucking somebody else and I'm the bitch?!"

Anger was starting to flare up in his eyes but she didnt care. She wanted to push him as far as he had pushed her.

"I didn't fuck her!"

She reached up and smacked him across the face causing his head to go to the side.

"Dont lie to me," she said as she punched him in the chest, "Dont you fucking lie to me too."

Tears rapidly started making their way down her face. Jax had had enough, he slowly started walking towards her as she continued to yell at him and hit him the chest. Christine felt her back hit the wall and in a flash Jax had grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head. His body was pressed up against her holding her against the wall. WIth his face an inch from hers he looked into her eyes. She good see every emotion going through him. Anger, hurt, fear, and when he spoke he spoke with his teeth clenched together.

"I am NOT lying to you. I didnt fuck her. Its YOU Christine! Its only you!"

Christines body relaxed but the tears didnt stop. Jax leaned in never taking his eyes off hers and kissed her. She just sat there motionless at first but her heart got the best of her and she leaned into him kissing him back in an urgent manner. His grip on her wrists tightened and she let out a moan before biting his lip. Letting her wrists go he grabbed her hips picking her up and sat her on the dresser. She pulled off his shirt throwing it in the floor then grabbed him behind the neck and pulled his mouth back on to hers. He pulled away this time taking off her shirt and her bra. Grabbing her hair at the nape of her neck in his fist he pulled her head back so that he had full access to her neck and started kissing and biting his way down her neck. A moan escaped her lips and she dug her nails into his forarms. Christine pushed him backwards and hopped off the dresser. She unbuttoned his jeans and shoved him backwards onto the bed taking off his boxers and jeans then took off her own shorts and panites. Climbing on the bed she straddled him. lowering herself down onto him slowly she moaned picking up pace. She took all of her frustrations out going harder, Jax gripping her thighs, his eyes closed as his moans and groans came out. Not being able to take it anymore he rolled them over so that he was on top of her pinning her arms above her head again and thrusted into her harder than he ever had before. Her body was like a live wire and she felt like she couldnt take what he was doing but there was no way she wanted him to stop. She felt her body leading up to climax as she grabbed onto him. The waves of ecstasy rocking her body over and over again. Jax came undone at the sight of her coming undone and he collapsed on top of her trying to catch his breath.

They lay there awhile later under the covers Jax rubbing his finger up and down her stomach.

Christine sighed, "Im still mad at you"

"I know," he said never breaking a stride on her stomach.

"You know what the saddest part is? Im so mad at you and I dont even wanna see your face right now, but you're the person I want to just be around right now."

"Christine-"

Whatever Jax was about to say was interrupted by a loud crashing noise coming from the front of the house. Followed by multiple sets of foot fall. Jax had already jumped up and pulled his boxers on getting ready to grab his piece. Christine jumped up pulling on her panties and her shirt just before they got swarmed by cops, decked out in bullet proof vests with their guns drawn.

"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND DONT MOVE!"

"Do you have a fucking warrant?" Jax said asked stepping towards them.

That seemed to be the little excuse they needed. Two officers lunged at him slinging him up against the wall pinning his arms behind his back.

"Jax!" Christine took a few steps toward him only to be shoved back into the wall by an officer, The hit knocking the breath out of her. The cops slapped cuffs on Jax just before he started trying to get loose out of their grip.

"She's fucking pregnant!"

The officer who had pushed her against the wall backed off a little bit but was still blocking her from moving.

In walked Agent Stahl with a smug grin on her face. Walking over towards Jax she leaned in close to his face.

"Hello Mr. Teller, we meet again. It seems like we've had some reports about drugs and guns being stored in your house."

"Bullshit!"

Leaning back away from him she looked around at the other officers.

"Take him in, and then search this house from top to bottom."

Christines temper was flaring. For the first time she realized that Officer Hale was standing behind some other officers near the door. Her distate for him started to grow at a rapid speed. The officer pulled Jax off the wall and made a move to head for the door.

"Wait," she said dodging aroud the officer. "Atleast let me put his pants on."

She didnt wait for a yes or a no she walked over to the floor and picked his pants, socks, and shoes up. Walking over in front of him she bent down and pulled his pants up then buttoned them. Then continued with his socks and shoes. She was aware that all eyes were on her and she was aware that she was in a shirt and panties and all but two of the other people in the room were men. She never looked at them though. She wouldnt let them see how bad they were getting to her. They didnt deserve to get that kind of rise out of her. Standing back up she kissed him on the mouth.

"Ill call your mom," she called after him "I love you."

Officer Hale hung back she noticed as everybody was clearing the room. She waited until everybody left the room the walked over to him and slapped him across the face. She saw the anger wash over his face.

"You know I could take you to jail for that."

"But you wont."

He sighed rubbing his hand down his face. His age really showed when he let his guard down.

"I didnt even wanna come in here and do this okay, so just put some clothes on."

With that he walked out leaving her in the bedroom by herself. Walking around she started grabbing her clothes and put them on. She got her bag and stuffed Jax's piece down in it. Walking in the living room past the cops she grabbed the puppy Jax got her and walked out the front door. Officer Hale was standing on the sidewalk out front talking to one of the officers, a red hand print starting to show on his cheek. She walked up to him interrupting the conversation.

"Dont let them break anything, you hear me?" She said point blank.

"Alright. I wont." He said.

With that she turned on her heel and got in the Cutlass and headed down the street. Pulling her phone out she dialed Gemmas number. She picked up after a few rings.

"Hey baby, How are you?"

"That aint important right now. The cops just busted in Jax's house. They took him in."


	30. FreEnemy

Hey yall. This ones short but the next one will be longer. I just wanted to find a good place to stop until the next chapter. Thank yall who read this. I truly appreciate it. Also to the awesome people who leave reviews, thank you too! I love reading them. They make me wanna jump right back to writing! I hope yall enjoy this! God Bless.

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><p>Christine sat on the hood of the Cutlass propped up on her arms; The California sun shining down on her causing her to sweat. All of the other club member and Gemma were lined up on the other side of the parking lot. A line of motorcycles just waiting other than Jax's. Christine had told them she would give him a ride back to the club. After the incident six days earlier they hadn't pressed the issue.<p>

Walking into the clubs meeting room she took the empty opposite Clay at the table. All of the guys seemed to be avoiding her gaze minus Clay. Hard steely eyes gazed back at her as she got to the chase.

"Well, whats the plan?"

Clay gave a pause before he chose to speak. Christine had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Listen, they haven't set bail for Jax yet, but even if they do we're not gonna be able to get him out. It would raise too much suspicion as to where the moneys coming from. That's exactly what ATF wants us to do. They only need one reason to come in,"

Christine's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"So we're not gonna give em that reason. Everybody in the club knows what the deal is. We go to jail for the club and we do time for the club. That's the way it works."

"You're saying that we should just let him sit in there?! Are you out of your mind? How long would he be in there?"

"They charged him with possession of illegal firearms and a drug charge. He'll probably be looking at a year, maybe more."

"Are you kidding me? I'm pregnant! I'm not gonna have this baby without him!"

A few of the guys who she supposed hadn't known turned to gawk at her including Clay, although he recovered quickly. _Gemma must not have told him _she thought before she continued.

"And its not safe for any of you in there from what I've heard either. How can you gamble with his life like that? Fuck this!" yelled standing up. "If its the money you're worried about I'll bail him out. My money means no questions about the club."

Anger flashed through Clays eyes so fast Christine almost missed it but he quickly recovered. _What the fuck was that about? _She thought as she headed out the door. Something was going on, she just didn't know what it was.

Christine cut her eyes, behind her aviators, at Clay across the parking lot. The only conclusion she had been able to come up with was that Clay didn't want Jax out of jail. Jax had been in jail for six days. Christine thought she was going to go insane the entire time. The people at the police department wouldn't let her speak to him. The door to the police department opened jerking Christine from her thoughts. Out walked Jax with Officer Hale behind him. Christine jumped off the hood and ran across the parking lot and jumped into Jax's opened arms wrapping her arms around his neck. Pulling back he noticed the tears coming from behind her sunglasses.

"Hey don't cry baby," he said wiping away her tears. He put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. "I'm out, it's gonna be alright."

Christine composed herself and they made their way over to the rest of the gang who had stayed in place.

Pats on the back and manly hugs came from all around.

"Glad to see you son," said Clay.

_Yeah right _she thought rolling her eyes.

Jax wrapped his mom in a hug and kissed her on her temple.

"Glad you're alright baby."

"Let's get out of this parking lot, we've got business to talk about" said Clay.

Gemma halted that plan. "Oh Clay let them have a little time with each other, they haven't seen each other in days."

"Well, be back at the club in a few hours, we need to have Church."

With that everybody started loading up onto their bikes and taking off.

Christine and Jax walked over to her car getting in.

"Where do you wanna go?" She asked him.

"Let's go to the house. I need a shower and some food."

Christine started the car and headed across town. The whole way thinking of how she was gonna tell Jax about Clay.

Christine stood at the kitchen counter cooking some spaghetti for Jax. The sound of the shower stopped as she finished up the food. She felt his stare before she realized he was there. Turning her head she saw him leaning up against the door jam in only a pair of sweats pants that hung off of his hips in that sexy way. He sauntered over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"You know you make a good ol' lady" he said quietly in her ear, causing a chill to run up her spine.

"Well I wont argue with you there. Now go sit down so you can eat. We need to talk about something."

He reluctantly let her go and went and sat down at the table. Carrying over a plate for him and herself she sat down. They sat and ate in silence for a few minutes before it got to him.

"So what do we need to talk about?" he asked her letting out a heavy breath.

She thought it over one last time. Once she came out and said her suspicions she wouldn't be able to take it back.

"Well?" he said impatiently.

"Jax…. Clay didn't want you to get out of jail."


	31. Motorcycle Gang Manifesto

Hey yall, Im SOOOO sorry this has taken so long, and Im sorry its so short. I will have you know Im working on the next chapter and it will hopefully be up later today. I feel bad for neglecting this story and I always forget how amazing it feels to write it until I pick it up again. I hope yall like this short chapter though. As always thank yall for reading. Reviews are appreciated but not mandatory haha. God Bless.

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><p>"What are you talking about Christine?"<p>

Confusion and anger were intwined in the creases that were now marking his forehead.

"Jax something is going on. I think Clays up to something..."

Christine continued, telling him everything that had been going on. The underlying anger in him seemed to grow more and more the farther along she got in her story.

"This is what I was afraid of" he said through clenched teeth. "This is why i said shit's been going on. I need to show you something."

Jax got up from the table, the chair scraping across the kitchen floor. Christine waited for him to come back in the kitchen for what seemed like forever. When he walked back in he had what looked like a manual. It was in a plain three ring binder.

"When I came back I was cleaning out the garage trying to get rid of some stuff to make room for you and the baby and I found this in a box of my dads old stuff."

Christine could see the confusion, anger, and sadness cross his face.

"I think Clay had something to do with my dads death... you cant tell anybody about this. This is my dads manifesto, he always had a knack for writing, but I never knew he did any of this. Just read it."

Christine took it from him and started reading. Time passed and she didnt know how long she had sat there reading. One excerpt that John Teller wrote struck her the hardest.

"Inside the club, there had to be truth. Our word was our honor. But outside, it was all about deception. Lies were our defense, our default. To survive, you had to master the art of perjury. The lie and the truth had to feel the same. But once you learned that skill, nobody knows the truth in or outside the club; especially you."

Christine hadn't finished it, that would take days. But she found a good stopping point and looked at him. She hadnt noticed his eyes on her but there he was steepled hands in front of his face. His anxious eyes staring into hers. Christine almost didnt recognize her own voice.

"What do we do?"


	32. Heading Back Part 1

Yall Im sorry its been awhile. There's been a lot going on. I'll leave it at that. Hopefully I can get this story back up and running. Thanks for the people who continue to read this and the new people who have started reading it. God Bless.

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><p>"Thats the thing Christine, Im not sure what to do. I dont know which way to go. Clays got some bad beef stirring with the Mayans and 9'ers. Shit could end up bad."<p>

"You could always just come back to North Carolina with me," she said joking.

Her attempt at cutting the tension didnt work.

"I wish I could. You know why I've been so messed up? Why I cant think straight and why Im getting reckless? On top of finding this, dealing with Clays bullshit, and ATF being on our asses; I've got a kid on the way. What kind of life is this to bring a kid into? What kind of life is this to bring somebody you love into?"

Jax looked up into her eyes, his emotions written all over his face. He looked much older in that moment. She could physically see the weight of his life on his shoulders. She could see his mind struggling with wrong and right. All she wanted to do was comfort him and tell him how to fix it, but she didnt know how. Reaching over she grabbed one of his hands in hers.

"We'll figure it out. We have to."

Christine knocked on the door at Gemma's house. The California sun was shining bright without a cloud in the sky. Christine was glad she had packed her maxi dress. She had been sweating constantly since she'd gotten back out here. Maybe its because Im pregnant she thought. Some part of her brain seemed to remember Mary always being hot when she was pregnant. Gemma opened the door looking her ever put together self.

"Hey baby, come on in."

They walked in to the house and sat down at the extra long dining room table where Gemma was smoking and drinking her coffee.

"I don't know how you're drinking that, its hot as hell outside!" Christine said wiping the sweat off her face with the back of her hand.

"You get used to it when you've lived here," she said with a laugh.

Christine sat there lost in thought for a minute.

"Whats going on in that head of yours?"

"I dont want to go back to North Carolina, but I have to. That's why I came over here. To see if you were coming back with me. I leave tonight. Jax doesnt think I should be in town with ATF still swarming around either. He figures they'll try to drag me in again, and if it goes down anything like last time, I dont think I'll be able to get him back out of there."

"If you want to leave tonight, we're leaving tonight. I told you I was here to help. The boys seem to get on alright without me anyways. Well other than that one discretion. How are you doing with that anyways? We haven't been able to talk since that night."

"Seeing Jax get hauled off took away most of the anger. Plus we talked about it before that. ATF's just got his head in a bad place. He seems to be working through it now though. Has Clay ever done anything like that to you?"

"Baby, Clay and Jax's father." Gemma seemed to go off into her own head for a minute thinking of something from the past. "John never seemed to be able to find what he was looking for. I know he loved me, and I loved him, but he fought with this life and what he wanted to be. As for Clay, he's like every other man in the world. It seems they think with their dick in most situations. If some pretty little piece of ass flaunts by their eyes follow. But its not who their eyes wander too, its who they come home to at night. There was this one time Clay and the guys had been over in Nevada and I guess he had gotten with some little tart over there. I hit her in the face with a skateboard and broke her nose. Right in the middle of town," Gemma laughed. "Clay was pissed. I got locked up. Turns out she was here for half sack. They're still together now. I told you me and you are a lot alike. We both have bad tempers, but the thing is Christine, to be with the men we're with we have to be that stronger type of woman. A weak woman could never deal with this life or those men. It wouldnt work out."

Christine thought about what she said and knew she was right. If she had met Jax when her and Chris had been together she would have ran from him and this life.

"Well, I better get back to the house and get my stuff packed up and everything."

"You and Jax come over tonight and we'll have a family dinner before we leave."

That night Christine sat beside Jax at the table. Clay and Gemma across from them. It was almost spooky how normal things seemed. Although, she knew that they were a normal family. Just a normal family with a lot of messed up ways. Christine uncinsciously touched her stomach. How could she bring a baby into all this mess. Jax even thought it would be insane and he had seen a lot of bad shit.

"So Christine, how long are you gonna keep my wife across the country?" Clay asked.

"Well Gemma said she would stay till after the Halloween Charity event. I dont expect her to stay any longer. I mean she doesnt have to go now if she doesnt really want to,"

"Like Id let you go deal with that crazy shit by yourself."

Christine laughed. "Everything will hopefully be taken care of soon."

"Is that guy still staying with you?" Jax asked.

Chrisitne turned her head to look at him. She could tell he was jealous which made her want to laugh but she knew that would make him mad.

"Yes he's still staying there. He helps Jimmy with everything."

Jax dropped it and they finished eating in silence. After dinner Christine helped Gemma get the kitchen cleaned up and they went into the living room to watch tv before they had to leave. Chrisitne started to feel hot and got up going to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and threw some water on her face. Looking at her reflection she still looked the same as usual but she felt older. She reached down and touched her stomach. Oh yeah, she thought, much older. A knock at the door made her jump and she opened it. Jax walked in and wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you doing in here all by yourself?"

"I got hot, came and put some water on my face."

"Isn't that a pregnant thing?"

She laughed, "Yeah I think so, but it might have just been sitting so close to you."

Jax let out a laugh and then kissed her. Christines hands made their way up his kneck and she tangled her hands in his hair deepening the kiss.

"Easy there" he said with a laugh.

Chrisitne pulled back remembering where she was, but she wanted him. It must be my hormones she thought. Then there was the fact that she was leaving him again and wouldnt be able to touch him. Grabbing his cut she pulled him towards her and kissed him harder this time.

Pulling back he looked at her, "Here?"

She nodded at him biting her lip. Jax leaned over and locked the door then turned picked her up and put her on the bathroom counter. He ran his hands up her legs pushing the skirt of her dress up as he went. His hands felt like they were leaving a trail of fire up her legs. Taking his belt in her hands she undid it and unbuttoned his jeans pulling them down with his boxers. Jax sprang free ready for her. Jax slid her panties off in one swift motion and positioned himself outside of her. Gently he slid himself into her. Christine moaned grabbing on to his upper arms.

"Quiet baby,"

Christine nodded and Jax picked up the pace. It took everything in her to keep herself quiet but she started to feel herself building up. Burying her face in his neck to muffle her sounds she let go around him. Jax following up right behind her.

"You alright down there," he asked her.

She nodded into his chest. Pulling her face up to his he kissed her then laid his forehead on hers.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she said breathlessly. "Now lets get out of here before we get caught."

Jax laughed but pulled back easing himself out of her. He helped her down off the counter and they both fixed themselves and headed back out into the living room.


End file.
